And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >From BIGMTLIST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 14:34:41 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: To Big Mountain List-Sign-on to support To the Big Mountain list: As you know the Dineh are currently under seige and face massive confiscation of their livestock by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States Government. The laws and regulations under which these confiscations have been authorized have been enacted without the input and participation of the Dineh people and is being done without their consent. To the traditional Dineh people the confiscation of their livestock is an attack upon their culture, their religion, and their lives. We call upon the NGOs and the world community to call for the US government to renounce these plans, and support the Dineh people’s attempt to defend their community against these attacks. Please sign-on to the letter that follows and feel free to modify it and include your organizational letterhead. Please copy us via e-mail and the US mail on all letters sent. Thank you in advance for your support. Marsha Monestersky, Consultant to Sovereign Dineh Nation and Co-Chair of the NGO Human Rights Caucus at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development ---------------------------------------------------------------------- February 19, 1999 URGENT ALERT: LIVESTOCK IMPOUNDMENTS ON BLACK MESA February 18, 1999 Big Mountain, AZ The US Bureau of Indian affairs (BIA) has launched a massive campaign of livestock confiscation targeting the elderly Dineh families who reside on their traditional homelands which the US government expropriated and now calls Hopi Partitioned Lands in the state of Arizona. The BIA ended a self-imposed two-year moratorium on livestock confiscation in January by mailing notices to owners of livestock without valid permits. Many people are not eligible for permits, and people who have permits often have permits for only a few of their livestock. The targets of this policy are largely elderly people pursuing their traditional lifestyle in which their livestock is both their means of survival and the center of their daily lives. The BIA claims that their sole purpose is to protect deteriorating range conditions. This statement is questionable, in that the BIA is also responsible for assisting in the implementation of federal laws requiring the forcible relocation of many of these same people by February 1, 2000, and many other government policies have been designed with the expressed purpose of making it difficult for the people to remain on the land. The people also claim that the source of the range problem is BIA range management policies that outlawed their traditional practice of using separate summer/winter camps that had enabled them to sustain herd sizes 4-10 times larger prior to BIA intervention. As a result of government policy, self-sufficient people are being transformed into a state of total dependency upon the government. Furthermore, when government policies disturb a traditional culture that has been self-sustaining for hundreds of years, genocide should not be considered as an acceptable mechanism to correct the problems resulting from those policies. Letters to the BIA expressing the concern of NGOs about the issue can play a major role in forcing the agency to reconsider its priorities and to respect the right of these people to pursue their traditional religion, culture, and means of survival. Organizations wishing more information or to offer other support should contact: Sovereign Dineh Nation P.O.Box 1968 Kaibeto, AZ 86053 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or contact Marsha Monestersky at 520-673-3461 or contact Bill Sebastian at 508-540-8980 The following letter is a sign-on letter for people concerning this issue. Organizations are welcome to use this as a model for use in indivdual letters. If individual letters are sent, please send a hard copy to Sovereign Dineh Nation as well as forwarding an email note so that the people can be aware of the support. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ms. Heather Sibbinson Bureau of Indian Affairs United States Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, DC 20240 We understand that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is proceeding to enforce a range management system under which many Dineh families living on Hopi Partitioned Land lack permits necessary to keep their current livestock. Many of the people at risk under this program are elderly people who depend upon their livestock for their survival and whose culture and religion is based on their ties to their land and their livestock. The confiscation of their livestock poses a risk to their health and violates their right to practice their traditional way of life. The Dineh families are living on their ancestral lands and many still practice the subsistence herding practices as they have done for hundreds of years before the US government acquired jurisdiction over the region. To the extent that Congress, tribal governments, or agencies have passed laws or regulations affecting this region, they are obligated to respect the right of these people to continue their traditional lifestyle in their customary use areas and to insure that these policies do not interfere with this right. We are also concerned about the conflict of interest inherent in the BIA's dual role of enforcing both range management and the provisions of the 1974 and 1996 Navajo-Hopi Settlement Acts. The purpose of a range management program should be confined to exercising a trust responsibility with respect to the health of the ecosystem. Under the Settlement Acts, the BIA is asked to assist in the relocation of many Dineh from their ancestral land, and previous government policies such as the Bennett Freeze were clearly intended to make it difficult for the people to remain on their land. To remove the people's means of survival on their traditional land would make it easier for the BIA to fulfill its enforcement obligations with respect to the Settlement Acts. The presence of this conflict of interest undermines the credibility of your agency with respect to range management. We are watching the events in this region with great concern and hope that your office will keep us updated as to policies and events affecting the region. As we enter the new millenium, we hope that all governments will uphold principles that protect human dignity and respect the unique nature of Indigenous societies. Sincerely, [] cc: Mr. Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs ******************************************** You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 ******************************************** &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&