And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: "KOLA International Campaign Office" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Mount Graham Update
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 99 19:09:53 PST
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; X-MAPIextension=".TXT"
THE SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE
San Carlos Avenue
P.O. Box O
San Carlos, Arizona 85550
(520) 475-2361
Fax (520) 475-2567
Raymond Stanley Velasquez W. Sneezy, Sr.
Tribal Chairman Tribal Vice-Chairman
March 24, 1999
President of the Republic of Italy
The Hon. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Palazzo del Quirinale
00186 Rome, ITALY
Chancellor, The Republic of Germany
The Hon. Gerhard Schroeder
Bundeskanzleramt
53113 Bonn, GERMANY
Dear Sirs:
The Apache people appeal to you and your parliament members and
your people to respect our Apache cultural and religious beliefs. We
beseech you to withhold financing of the Mount Graham, Arizona
observatory. Our San Carlos Apache Tribal Council, Medicine Men
and Women, Spiritual Leaders, and Elders have steadfastly,
adamantly and openly opposed this desecration. Our Council
resolutions have repeatedly stated:
"... any permanent modification of the present form of this
mountain constitutes a display of profound disrespect for a
cherished feature of our original homeland as well as a serious
violation of our traditional religious beliefs..."
Our Medicine Men and Women and Spiritual Leaders have stated:
"We the undersigned spiritual leaders of the Apache
people acknowledge the central sacred importance of
Dzil Nchaa Si An (Mount Graham) to the traditional
religious practice of the Apache. We oppose the Mt.
Graham telescope project because it will interfere with
the ability of the traditional Apache to practice their
religion."
Ramon Riley, Cultural Resources Director, White Mountain Apache
Tribe, wrote to Ohio State University President Gordon Gee in 1997:
"The simply-but-essential truth is that the long-term health
of Apache people and our cultures depend in a very real
way on the physical and visual integrity of our ancestral
landscapes and on the advent, within non-Indian society,
of greater respect for our ways... no good can come from
an observatory built on institutional arrogance and
aggressive contempt for divergent values and perspectives."
Since time immemorial, Mt Graham has been sacred to the Apache.
It is the spring of our life and the protector of our existence. Over
one hundred Sunrise Dances occur each year on the San Carlos
and Fort Apache reservations. This is the most important religious
and cultural ceremony of us Apache people and celebrates the entry
of Apache girls into womanhood. During this ceremony the entire
history of the Apache people is reinacted from the dawning of
creation through song and dance. Each ceremony involves
hundreds of tribal members and reflects the traditions of the great
majority of our Apache people. At these sacred ceremonies the
Apache Mountain Spirit Dancers, or Gaahn, which dwell in most
sacred mountains such as Dzil Nchaa Si An (Mount Graham), are
present at this ceremony. The Gaahn bring the gift, power and
blessings of our Apache way to Apache womanhood.
The National Congress of American Indians representing U.S.
Indian tribes, at their 1993 and 1995 conventions, called for "the
removal of all telescopes from Dzil Nchaa Si An."
We are a Tribe without surplus economic resources. However,
the astronomers have been able to spend millions lobbying "riders"
through Congress and litigating in courtroom attempts to exempt
themselves from U.S. Native American cultural and religious
protection laws.
This is our humble plea to you. Please forego funding this project.
We believe your people wish to honor and respect the beliefs and
traditions which have been with us Apache for centuries.
Sincerely,
SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE
[signature]
Velasquez W. Sneezy, Sr.
Tribal Vice-Chairman
CC:
Prsident William Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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