NATIVE_NEWS: A STACKED DECK :THE NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: Victor Rocha: Pechanga.net Subject: A STACKED DECK Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 23:37:53 -0700 A STACKED DECK : THE NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY COMMISSION'S FLAWED PROCESS AND CONCLUSIONS by Michael Lombardi and Waltona Manion Featured Columnists For Indian Gaming Business Magazine Two years after its creation, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission submitted its final report to Congress on June 18th. When the composition of the Commission was originally announced, it was apparent to leaders in Indian Country that politics, not sound public policy would drive the study's conclusions. The nine-member federal commission was made up of Nevada gaming insiders J. Terrence Lanni, CEO of MGM Grand; Bill Bible, a former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and John Wilhelm, president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, which represents approximately 100,000 casino workers and former California Lieutenant Governor and horseracing industry consultant Leo McCarthy. The commission also included two staunchly-religious activists -- former dean at Pat Robertson's Regent University Kay James and prominent Christian radio personality James Dobson as well as Paul Moore, a Mississippi radiologist and finally, a sole Native American representative, Robert Loesher, leader of the Tlingit/Haida Indian tribe in Alaska, a tribe with no gaming. Early comments made by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, were prophetic in forecasting how the Commission would come down on the issue of Indian gaming. Following a conversation with Senator Tom Daschle about the appointment of horseracing industry advocate Leo McCarthy to the commission, Reid was reported to have stated, "We want someone who will check the spread of Indian gaming." With the issuance of the commission's final report we can clearly see that the modern day Indian fighters got what they wanted from the commission. Among the sixteen Commission recommendations to Congress regarding tribal gambling is the following bombshell: "The 'Commission recommends that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act classes of gambling must be clearly defined so that there is no confusion as to what gambling constitutes Class II and Class III gambling activities. Further, the commission recommends that Class III gambling activities should not include any activities that are not available to other citizens of the state, regardless of technological similarities Indian gambling should not be inconsistent with the state's overall gambling policy.' " If Congress were to act affirmatively upon this recommendation it would effectively over turn the United States Supreme Court 1987 decision in California vs Cabazon. This has been the objective of Senator Reid and his casino cronies for years. In that landmark decision the court ruled, "State jurisdiction over on-reservation activities of tribes and tribal members is preempted if it interferes or is incompatible with federal law, unless state interests at stake are sufficient to justify assertion of state authority; inquiry should proceed in light of traditional notions of Indian sovereignty and Congressional goal of Indian self-government, including overriding goal of encouraging tribal self-sufficiency and economic development". The Supreme Court concluded that, "When a State seeks to enforce a law within an Indian reservation under the authority of Public Law 280 it must be determined whether the state law is criminal in nature and thus fully applicable only as it may be relevant to private litigation in state court". The court went on to uphold a court of appeals decision which concluded, "that California's statute, which permits bingo games to be conducted only by certain restrictions, is not a "criminal/prohibitory" statute falling within Public Law 280's grant of criminal jurisdiction, but instead is a "civil/regulatory" statute not authorized by Public Law 280 to be enforced on reservations." The standard, for determining the permissible scope of gaming, in each of the 24 states with tribal-state compacts has been the Cabazon public policy test. The commission's recommendation, if adopted by Congress, to limit tribes' gaming activities to the state regulatory jurisdiction would have a catastrophic effect on Indian gaming nationwide. Perhaps as many as 21 of the 24 currently compacted states may demand tribes renegotiate the terms of their respective compacts. Limiting tribes to the "exact form" of permissible gaming permitted to others will result in a radical transformation of the Indian gaming industry. Revenues for tribal governments engaged in compacted Class III gaming under this scenario could decline by more than 70%. Limiting tribes to the "exact same form of gaming as permitted to others within a state" has been the objective of both the Governors Association and the Nevada Resort Association for years. Forcing tribes to submit
NATIVE_NEWS: ENVIRO BRIEFS: (ENS) NEWS JUNE 23, 1999
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JUNE 23, 1999 Interior Appropriations Rider Would Gut Northwest Forest Plan Bill to Undermine Critical Habitat Designation Gets 1st Hearing White House Launches Wind Power Initiative Jet Travel Accelerates Global Warming Nuclear Commission Puts Brakes on Yucca Mountain Defenders of Texas Coast Sea Turtles Urge Marine Reserve New Jersey Wildlife Refuge Expands Continental Divide Trail Alliance Accepted by Federal Agencies Lawsuit Filed to Protect Rare California Plants Free Flea Beetles Aim to Purge Spurge Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999 For full text and graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jun99/1999L-06-23-09.html AmeriScan: June 23, 1999 * * * BILL TO UNDERMINE CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION GETS 1ST HEARING The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing today on a Republican sponsored bill that would bypass current requirements in the Endangered Species Act covering critical habitat designations. The bill, S. 1100, would require that determinations of critical habitat for threatened or endangered species be part of the development of recovery plans for the species. Now critical habitat is supposed to be designated as part of the listing of the species, early in the protection process. S. 1100 would allow the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service to decline to designate critical habitat if the agency cannot determine what the habitat area should be. This "not determinable" loophole was removed by Congress in 1983 because it was often used to avoid critical habitat designations. Environmental groups are lobbying heavily against the bill. * * * WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES WIND POWER INITIATIVE The latest White House renewable energy initiative, Wind Powering America, which seeks to increase the use of wind energy in the United States has been launched by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. The program would supply at least five percent of the nation's electricity needs with wind energy by the year 2020. More than 5,000 megawatts of wind energy would be installed by 2005, and 10,000 megawatts would come on line by 2010. Eight states now have more than 20 megawatts of wind capacity. The initiative seeks to double that number to 16 by 2005, and triple it to 24 by 2010. The federal government's use of wind generated electricity would go up to five percent by 2010. Speaking to Monday's opening session of WINDPOWER 99, the annual conference of the wind energy industry, Richardson also announced nearly $1.2 million in Department of Energy grants to promote wind energy projects. "Wind energy has been the fastest growing source of energy in the world during the past decade and now represents a major economic opportunity for the United States," Richardson said. "Wind Powering America, together with these latest grants, will help combat global climate change by reducing carbon emissions while also helping us promote regional economic development and increased energy security." snipped * * * JET TRAVEL ACCELERATES GLOBAL WARMING By the year 2050, contrails from jet airplanes will impact global climate, says a study in the July 1 issue of the journal "Geophysical Research Letters." Contrails, ice clouds formed by jet engines, are short lived in dry air, but can persist for hours in moist air and become indistinguishable from natural cirrus clouds. A research team of American and German scientists, headed by Patrick Minnis of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, reports that contrails cause atmospheric warming. Though the impact of contrails is currently small compared to other greenhouse effects, it may grow by a factor of six over the next 50 years as air traffic increases, the study says. In 1992, contrails added an estimated 0.02 watts of warming per square meter globally, about one percent of all manmade greenhouse effects. In areas where air traffic is concentrated, including the U.S. and Europe, warming effects from contrails reach up to 0.7 watts per square meter, or 35 times the global average. In parts of Europe with the heaviest air traffic contrails now cover up to 3.8 percent. In
NATIVE_NEWS: EPA
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: BIGMTLIST [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 03:31:37 -0800 Subject: EPA From BIGMTLIST The following is a Seattle Times article and some EPA sites relavant to the Navajo/Dineh. Many of these EPA sites have not been updated for quite awhile, but they contain interesting information and contacts. My search for these sites was spurred by an article sent in by Diane Reese entitled "Federal, state officials called lax on pollution laws." at: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/nation-world/html98/altpoll_060798.html The article appears below (for those without web access), followed by the various EPA sites. Fred Hansen, who is mentioned in the article, can be reached at: Honorable Fred Hansen Deputy Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 401 M St., SW Washington, DC 26460 A cursery read of the EPA websites leads me to believe that the EPA is more interested in the relatively small amount of pollution created by the Navajo people than it is in the gross pollution created by Peabody Western Coal Co. The EPA Enforcement website at http://es.epa.gov/oeca/ has a good article: "Compliance With Permitting Critical To Clean Air Act Goals" at-- http://es.epa.gov/oeca/ore/enfalert/psd1.html. It would appear that Peabody Coal is due for some enforcement activity. Your feedback comments can be entered into the form at: http://es.epa.gov/cgi-bin/oecamail.pl === === seattletimes.com Nation and World Copyright © 1998 The Seattle Times Company Posted at 10:03 p.m. PDT; Sunday, June 7, 1998 Federal, state officials called lax on pollution laws by John H. Cushman Jr. The New York Times WASHINGTON - The inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency has documented widespread failures by federal and local officials in several states, including Washington, to police even the most basic requirements of the nation's clean-air and clean-water laws. In a series of new reports, the environmental agency's independent auditing arm found waste-water treatment plants operating with obsolete permits or with none at all, inspectors failing to visit and review factories, and states falling short of federal goals. The reports blamed both federal and state officials for the shortcomings. Investigators found that state officials failed to enforce the laws and to report violations to the federal government, but they also found that federal officials were remiss in enforcing the law and in supervising the state authorities. As part of a nationwide examination of environmental enforcement that began two years ago, the reports point to problems that are probably not isolated in the relatively few states where audits were done, senior EPA officials said. Most states may be enforcing the laws most of the time, the officials said, but the sampling probably uncovered conditions that exist to varying degrees all over the country. Fred Hansen, the EPA's deputy administrator, said in an interview that the audits showed "a troubling trend of possible deficiencies, at least in some states." In two states, Idaho and Alaska, the inspectors found that federal authorities had not issued or renewed hundreds of permits required for factories and waste-water treatment plants, often for as long as 10 years. Officials issued only a handful of permits each year as part of a policy of focusing attention on a few major sources of pollution. Very few formal enforcement actions were taken against polluters in those states when they significantly violated the terms of their outdated permits, an audit disclosed. In Washington state, where state officials had reported that only seven of the 178 major air-pollution sources were violating permits, the auditors sampled 31 locations and found 17 in violation. The state's inspections were inadequate to meet federal standards, the auditors found. In New Mexico, about half the major air-pollution sources as defined by the Clean Air Act were never inspected from 1990 to 1996. In 1995 and 1996, the state stopped reporting significant violations of air-quality regulations to the federal government as the rules required. Even after the federal agency complained and the reports resumed, the state neglected to report about a third of the violations. In 75 percent of the streams in Missouri, the state did not adopt the Clean Water Act's central goal of making the water clean enough for swimming, and ignored the federal requirement for studies to demonstrate that this 25-year-old goal was unachievable. The state sets water-quality criteria for several pollutants at lower levels than the federal government - without justification, a report said. In the reviews, investigators looked at two types of pollution: emissions into the air from operations regulated under the Clean Air Act, like factory boilers, and discharges into the water from operations regulated under the Clean
NATIVE_NEWS: proud to call Halifax home
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 08:39:15 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Lynne Moss-Sharman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: "proud to call Halifax home" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" letter to editor Globe and Mail June 24, 1999 Embarrassing remarks John MacDermid Thursday, June 24, 1999 Lions Bay, B.C. -- Re Micmacs Killed Too, Halifax Mayor Says -- June 22: As a Haligonian, I am embarrassed by the comments made by Mayor Walter Fitzgerald. I assure all First Nations living in Nova Scotia and, for that matter, across the country, that his insensitive views are not representative of the thinking of all those who are proud to call Halifax home. "Let Us Consider The Human Brain As A Very Complex Photographic Plate" 1957 G.H. Estabrooks www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html FOR K A R E N #01182 who died fighting 4/23/99 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.aches-mc.org 807-622-5407 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
NATIVE_NEWS: $1 billion residential school settlements
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 10:32:22 -0400 From: Lynne Moss-Sharman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: $1 billion residential school settlements : : Native school compensation to rival Hep C Top court ruling puts government on hook for $1B Janice Tibbetts The Ottawa Citizen The federal government, faced with thousands of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse at Indian residential schools, is looking at a compensation bill that will rival the $1.2 billion awarded to victims of hepatitis C. Although federal officials have been reluctant to put a price tag on potential liability for residential schools, it is now clear the government will be on the hook for at least $1 billion because of the growing number of claims, sources say. As a result, the government is switching course. Instead of fighting more than 6,000 claimants on a case-by-case basis, officials are moving toward out-of-court compensation. The Indian Affairs and Justice departments reject the idea of one mass package, but the government plans to negotiate group compensation deals that could involve victims who attended the same schools or live in the same communities. "We're looking at groups that have shared interests," said Shawn Tupper, a senior adviser with the Indian Affairs Department. The number of lawsuits filed by former students changes weekly, almost quadrupling in the past six months alone. Officials fear that claims could still increase by the thousands, particularly in light of a Supreme Court ruling last week that declared that employers can be held legally liable when employees abuse children in their care. About 105,000 aboriginal children attended some 80 residential schools across the country before the last ones were closed in the 1980s. The boarding schools, set up to assimilate Indian children into mainstream culture, were sponsored by the federal government and run by several churches, which have also been barraged with lawsuits. Some cases date to the 1920s. "We're talking about people who were abused when they were five, six or seven years old and they're coming forward now in their 80s," Mr. Tupper said. The Supreme Court decision is expected to push both the churches and federal governments to move faster in settling claims because it has clarified that both are potentially liable. The two sides have been battling for years over their portion of blame. The federal government has settled only 250 lawsuits so far, paying out more than $20 million to victims of former residential schools run solely by the federal government where employees have been convicted of sexual abuse, mainly in Saskatchewan but also in British Columbia. Settlements have ranged from $20,000 to $200,000. Peter Grant, a Vancouver lawyer representing about 100 claimants, said he is expecting larger settlements for his clients, who continue to grow in number. "We do not see a levelling-off," said Mr. Grant. "We're talking about something that went on for over 80 years. It is truly a national shame and it is going to be costly." The amount of the government's potential bill is still subject to change, depending on the number of future suits filed and the division of liability between the churches and government. The claims involve several class-action suits, some alleging loss of culture and language. Although the federal government contends it is not financially liable for cultural deprivation, the matter could still end up in court and push up the total liability even further. The estimate of at least $1 billion, based on current projections, is expected to be one of the largest out-of-court settlements ever paid out by the federal government. Last week, victims of hepatitis C from the tainted-blood scandal settled a $1.2-billion, federal-provincial compensation deal that was described as the largest personal injury settlement ever negotiated in Canada. The federal government rejects a mass compensation deal for residential school victims because officials say the circumstances vary widely. "Let Us Consider The Human Brain As A Very Complex Photographic Plate" 1957 G.H. Estabrooks www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html FOR K A R E N #01182 who died fighting 4/23/99 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.aches-mc.org 807-622-5407 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
NATIVE_NEWS: REUTERS: Colombia rebels and army in raging battle, 68 dead
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Via LISN list Subject: REUTERS: Colombia rebels and army in raging battle, 68 dead Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 08:31:08 -0500 From: Dennis Grammenos [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [NOTE: Once again the military backs up the paramilitaries and takes heavy casualties for them.-DG] == International human rights groups have frequently accused the military of sponsoring the death squads. After last year's assault on Castano's base, the FARC claimed the army had sent in reinforcements to save the paramilitary chieftain from almost certain death. ___ == REUTERS Wednesday, 23 June 1999 Colombia rebels and army in raging battle, 68 dead -- By Karl Penhaul BOGOTA -- At least 68 people have died in fighting between Colombian Marxist rebels and the army after guerrillas tried to storm the mountain hide-out of a rightist death squad chieftain, authorities said on Wednesday. The army's second-in-command Gen. Nestor Ramirez said 35 soldiers were killed and six missing -- the military's worst casualty toll since the government began peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in January. Nineteen FARC guerrillas, at least four right-wing paramilitary gunmen and 10 peasants were also reported dead in the battle which began Monday but was still raging Wednesday in northern Cordoba province. ``This is a total and absolute war. Things are very complicated. We're fighting (the guerrillas) with planes and armoured helicopters,'' Gen. Victor Julio Alvarez, head of the army's 1st Division, told reporters. There was no immediate indication that the fighting would upset the timetable for peace talks with the FARC. The latest round of the process -- the start of full-fledged negotiations -- is due to begin July 6 in southeastern Colombia in a Switzerland-sized area that has been cleared of state security forces. The FARC, the hemisphere's oldest and largest rebel army, has ruled out a ceasefire during negotiations to end Colombia's three-decade-old civil conflict, which has claimed 35,000 lives in the past 10 years, saying talks must go on in ``the midst of war.'' The 50-strong army unit came under fire Tuesday night as they hunted down a FARC column, which local officials said had killed 10 peasants and razed several homes Monday. Ramirez said his troops had fought ``bravely from a position of overwhelming inferiority'' against more than 200 rebels, adding that armed forces chief Gen. Fernando Tapias had flown to the region to take command of operations. Fighting broke out as the FARC tried to push into the Nudo de Paramillo mountain range, a local government official said. The mountains are the stronghold of the rebels' bitterest enemy Carlos Castano, head of an illegal, nationwide alliance of paramilitary squads known as the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). Castano has spearheaded a ``dirty war'' against the guerrillas and their suspected sympathisers and narrowly escaped death last December when FARC rebels overran his camp, killing and mutilating 30 people. In a call to the Caracol radio network, a regional AUC commander identified only as ``Omega'' said the FARC had killed 38 soldiers in Tuesday night's firefight and added four AUC combatants had died. International human rights groups have frequently accused the military of sponsoring the death squads. After last year's assault on Castano's base, the FARC claimed the army had sent in reinforcements to save the paramilitary chieftain from almost certain death. This week's battle followed a series of attention-grabbing attacks by a smaller guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), which hijacked a commercial airliner in northern Colombia in early April and kidnapped all 41 passengers and crew aboard. In late May, the ELN kidnapped more than 150 worshippers during a mass in a church in the southwest city of Cali -- an action it said was in reprisal for a paramilitary massacre in northern Colombia. The ELN is still holding at least 54 hostages from those two assaults, prompting the government to break off all peace overtures with the group until they are released. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited ___ *** * Visit the website of CSN's Champaign-Urbana (Illinois) chapter at * * http://www.prairienet.org/csncu * Visit the COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK at http://www.igc.org/csn* * Visit the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at http://www.prairienet.org/clm * *** Reprinted under the fair use
NATIVE_NEWS: Re: From garden to sacred land
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: "CATHERINE DAVIDS" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: The University of Michigan - Flint Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 12:22:00 EDT MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: From garden to sacred land Flint Journal (Flint, Michigan) Thursday, June 24, 1999 The newspaper article is accompanied by a color photograph of Lapeer County Sheriff Detective Nancy Stimson excavating bones (estimated to be 1,000 to 2,000 years old) found in a Hadley Township backyard. by James L. Smith Journal Staff Writer By turning over a few shovelfuls of dirt to plant a bush, a township woman dug back as far as 2,000 years into history. The woman uncovered what American Indians and Michigan State University experts say likely is a sacred burial ground, apparently used by a tribe of people who may have lived in the area 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. Theh bones of five adults and three children were found at the site June 16. Officials believe many more people probably are buried there - and that has led to discussions about what to do next. The discussions are among Saginaw Chippewa Tribal officials who want to protect ground they consider sacred, the owners of the property who want to protect their privacy and scientists curious to learn more about the long-ago culture. The site is not the oldest in the state. Officials say others ate back 10,000 years, but they still would like to know more about what is at the site. "It's clear to ome there's more there," said Lapeer County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Nancy Stimson. "What we found is the tip of what is there. It appears to be a major grave site." But officials want to balance their curiosity with the wishes of the American Indians. Disruption of burial sites is a major concern to native people, said Jefferson Ballew, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act coordinator for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. "To native people, it's the same as me going into your great- grandmother's grave, taking her ring and cross and displaying her skull," said Ballew a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians near Dowagiac. Native Americans want the government to protect Indian burial sites in the same way other cemeteries are protected. Although Michigan does not prohibit people from displaying or keeping Indian remains, the tribe encourages people to return the bones to the tribe for reburial. Ballew said the homeowners in the Hadley Township case have been very cooperative in working with the tribe. They have asked police not to release their names or where they live. Ballew said the tribe usually prefers that unearthed remains be returned to where they were found. But in instances where reamins might face future disruption through development or change in property owners, the tribe might prefer to exhume ther emains and rebury them at a cemetery on an Indian reservation, Ballew said. So far, no decision has been made about whether to do any more excavation at the site. After the homeowners discovered the remains, sheriff's detectives spent two days using trowels and brushes to carefully excavate a small area around the find. On Tuesday, Stimson took the bones to Michigan State University, where a forensic anthropologist and an archaeologist estimated they were of Woodland Indians from 1,000 to 2,000 years ago. They based their estimates on a visual examination of the bones and the police photographs of the burial site. Professor Norman Sauer told Stimson she had brought him the bones of at least eight people. Their ages at death have not been determined, but they ranged from newborn to elderly. One femur, that of an adult, indicated a man about 5'7" tall, said Todd W. Fenton, the forensic anthropologist who examined the bones. He said there was no sign of injury, so the people probably died of natural causes. Placement of the bones in the grave indicated the site was an ossuary, or secondary burial vault, Fenton said. Experts explained to the detectives that ancient cultures would often bury people, then later exhume the remains and place only the skull and large extremity bones into a common burial pilt after a passage of time. In the Hadley case, pictures taken of the bones by Stimson before they were removed show they were "bundled," Fenton said. That evidence helped date the remains. In the Woodland Era the period during which the people likely lived, tribes often kept remains in a hut until they decomposed and then on a particular day would gather and bury them in an organized way. A combination of factors likely resulted in the survival of the reamins long after many would have disintegrated, Fenton said. "Depending on the environment, bones can hang around
NATIVE_NEWS: BGMTN: Carol's Visit to Black Mesa
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From BIGMTLIST Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 23:05:50 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Carol Halberstadt [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Revised message To the Big Mountain supporters: I just returned Sunday, June 20, from three weeks on Black Mesa and visiting Dine' friends on the eastern part of Dinetah, in New Mexico. I was honored to meet and visit with many of the people, to touch the land and share a few moments of their lives. My heart is full. I also met with the Hopi BIA at Keams Canyon, with Navajo Nation executives at Window Rock, and spoke to people at Tsegi Canyon, at Betatakin, at Spiderwoman Rock at Tse'yi' (Canyon de Chelly), at Teesto, Pinon, Chinle, Hubbell, and Homolovi, Flagstaff and Albuquerque. Everywhere I went Black Mesa was known to the Dine', wherever they lived, and most people spoke of it in ways that evoked the sadness of their telling about the Long Walk. As I drove north from Phoenix on June 1 and 2, it rained heavily in Cottonwood and Flagstaff; when I left via the Thoreau/Crownpoint area the last two days (June 17-19) it rained heavily there again. I hope it rained on Black Mesa. I will be writing up my notes on my journey and will be sharing some of them with the Big Mountain list. This poem was written as first a rainbow appeared and then the rain began as I was traveling away from Black Mesa, near Ganado. As I traveled, I was struck by how Black Mesa is encircled by national parks, most of which preserve ancient ruins in pristine splendor--the Grand Canyon to the west, Monument Valley, Betatakin, and Tsegi to the north, Tse'yi' (Canyon de Chelly) to the east, and Homolovi, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest to the south. And the beauty of Black Mesa is in the center--a continuation of the beauty of these protected lands where millions of tourists and travelers come to wonder each year. Virtually none of them know of Black Mesa in their midst--where several thousand living people preserve the land with the presence of their lives. And where thousands more would return to renew their homeland for all the generations of people, and insects, and livestock, and trees, and birds, and deer, and prairie dogs to come... Leaving Black Mesa After the rainbow, the rain- clouds bound up like wool, their streaming tresses combed by wind, loosened in thunder. Does it rain in the hardened heart? Does it rain on Black Mesa, alone with her beetles, her people, her birds, her piñon and juniper? Does the rain know her still? Where the water was, there is sand. The glacial sea cradled in rock is draining. It is being drunk by fools who carry away her heart. Will the grandmother's tears and the children's save her stones? She is bounded by ruins where people come to wonder- but who knows Black Mesa? Who will tell her song? (©Carol Snyder Halberstadt 6/16/99) -- Carol S. Halberstadt, Migrations ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Native American art and crafts http://www.migrations.com "A generation goes, and a generation comes, and the earth abides forever." (Ecclesiastes 1:4) "...then weave for us a garment of brightness, that we may walk fittingly where birds sing..." (from a Tewa prayer) "Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look on the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth wear away like a garment..." (Isaiah 51:6) You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate) 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 -- This message was sent to you by Name: BIGMTLIST Email Address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] IP Address: office23.theofficenet.com -- Using Aureate Group Mail Free Edition Find out more about this product and try it for free at: http://www.group-mail.com/1 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
NATIVE_NEWS: LA FRAMBOISE ISLAND: Island protesters vow to continue
Link provided by David H. thanks..:) http://www.capjournal.com/Article_detail_display.cfm?ID=590Article=News Island protesters vow to continue Tuesday, June 22, 1999 Patrick Baker A member of the Indian encampment on La Framboise Island in Pierre said he finds it hard to believe offices in Washington D.C., are unaware of the group's protest of the Missouri River Land Transfer Act. A goal of protesters is to garner congressional oversight hearings concerning legislation passed last October that allows for the transfer of land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to South Dakota and the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Sioux tribes. Such hearings would have to be scheduled by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, headed by Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., which has jurisdiction over corps activity. Spokespeople from Chafee's office and the committee office said it is possible that they have received correspondence concerning the protest but no oversight hearings have been scheduled nor are being planned. Camper Boots Quiver said organizers have made a point in the last month to flood Chafee's office with literature about the protest. Either they're deaf or they're very isolated or they're told not to say anything, Quiver said in response to Washington's seeming lack of attention to the protest. The transfer act was passed as part of the 14,000 page Omnibus Bill that made it through Congress in the fall. Quiver said the camp has received attention from all over the world including the British Broadcasting Company and news sources in places like San Diego, New York City and Chicago. We're in all these big newspapers all across the country, he said. On the local and state level, Quiver said, Every morning they wake up and see our protest camp. He said the camp, likely to receive another month's permission to be on the island from the corps, is not going anywhere. Quiver said, It's at the point where they can't ignore it. They think, 'ignore them.' We're going to get cold and go home. They don't know how far from the truth that is. The camp has served as a visual symbol of a protest backed by members of several tribes throughout the state, including some from Cheyenne River and Lower Brule. The Black Hills Sioux Treaty Council is also behind the protest, according to representatives' past statements. The protest hinges on the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 which campers have said is constitutionally supposed to supersede all subsequent laws. Spokespeople from Sen. Tom Daschle's office and Gov. William Janklow's office, co-authors of the land transfer act, have said in the past that Supreme Court decisions have eroded many aspects of the treaty. They have said that the transfer is legal and in the best interest of citizens of the state including tribal members, whether beneficiaries of the transfer or otherwise. Quiver said he believes the protest is gaining media support on a state, national and international level which can only aid the group's cause. He said he does not believe oversight hearings are out of the question down the road and that protesters will stay on the island as long as it takes. sENATE cONTACT iNFO: SOUTH DAKOTA JUNIOR SENATOR Tim P. Johnson (Democrat) Washington DC EMail Address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Washington DC Web Address: http://www.senate.gov/~johnson/ [District Address - Aberdeen] P.O. Box 1554 Aberdeen, SD 57402 Phone: 605-226-3440 FAX: 605-226-2439 Toll-Free: 800-537-0025 [District Address - Rapid City] P.O. Box 1098 Rapid City, SD 57709 Phone: 605-341-3990 FAX: 605-341-2207 Toll-Free: 800-537-0025 [District Address - Sioux Falls] 715 S. Minnesota Avenue P.O. Box 1424 Sioux Falls, SD 57101 Phone: 605-332-8896 FAX: 605-332-2824 Toll-Free: 800-537-0025 [Washington DC Address] 502 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-5842 FAX: 202-228-5765 SOUTH DAKOTA SENIOR SENATOR Thomas A. 'Tom' Daschle (Democrat) Washington DC EMail Address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Washington DC Web Address: http://www.senate.gov/~daschle/ [District Address - Aberdeen] 20 Sixth Avenue SW, Suite B Aberdeen, SD 57401 Phone: 605-225-8823 FAX: 605-225-8468 Toll-Free: 800-424-9094 [District Address - Rapid City] 816 Sixth Street Rapid City, SD 57701 Phone: 605-348-7551 [District Address - Sioux Falls] 810 South Minnesota Avenue Sioux Falls, SD 57104 Phone: 605-334-9596 [Washington DC Address] 509 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-4103 Phone: 202-224-2321 FAX: 202-224-2047 GOVERNOR WILLIAM [EMAIL PROTECTED] PRESIDENT: WILLIAM CLINTON [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] (WHITE HOUSE FAX) [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] (AL GORE) Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
NATIVE_NEWS: Brandon Wapoose malnutrition death, sister/brother rickets
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 11:17:55 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Lynne Moss-Sharman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Brandon Wapoose malnutrition death, sister/brother rickets Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thursday, June 24, 1999Malnutrition killed baby Fatality inquiry told CoffeeMate diet led to 10-month-old's death By TONY BLAIS, SUN MEDIA EDMONTON -- A 10-month-old northern Alberta infant who was regularly fed diluted CoffeeMate died as a result of malnutrition, a fatality inquiry heard yesterday. Dr. Graeme Dowling, the province's chief medical examiner, compared Brandon Wapoose's condition to starving African children. "That is the type of malnutrition this child had," said Dowling, adding this is the only such case he's ever seen in Alberta. The infant from the Fox Lake Reserve, a small community in northern Alberta, died April 7, 1998, at Edmonton's University hospital after being admitted two weeks earlier with severe malnutrition. Wapoose, who also had a viral illness, ended up at University Hospital after going from the Fox Lake nursing station to hospitals in Fort Vermilion and then Grande Prairie. Dowling testified that he learned that a large part of Wapoose's diet consisted of diluted coffee whitener. An autopsy revealed many typical signs of malnutrition, the underlying cause of Wapoose's death, said Dowling. "The thing that started the ball rolling for this child's downward spiral was malnutrition," said Dowling. "He might have been receiving sufficient calories but not sufficient protein," he said. Dr. Allan De Caen, a pediatric intensive care unit physician at University hospital, testified that Wapoose's mother agreed [message truncated] "Let Us Consider The Human Brain As A Very Complex Photographic Plate" 1957 G.H. Estabrooks www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html FOR K A R E N #01182 who died fighting 4/23/99 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.aches-mc.org 807-622-5407 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
