And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Thanks to Mike for the link..:) Indians arrested in protest http://www.discoveromaha.com/partners/wowt/news/1999/07/protest_03.html Nine American Indians, including activist Russell Means, were arrested as several hundred members of the Oglala Sioux tribe marched from the Pine Ridge, South Dakota, reservation into this tiny border town. About 150 marchers and scores of others riding in cars arrived at the Nebraska border, where authorities waited to stop the protesters from entering Whiteclay. More than 100 state troopers, clad in riot gear, stood toe-to-toe with the marchers before the crowd dissipated and most of the protesters began the walk back to Pine Ridge. As the group crossed into Nebraska, a patrolman with a bullhorn told the marchers not to cross a line of yellow tape. Moments later, Means and an unidentified protester crossed the tape and were arrested. At one point, a man riding bareback on a horse skirted police and rode, hollering, through an adjacent field before police widened their line to stop any further breaks. State troopers said those who were arrested were taken to nearby Rushville, Nebraska for processing and probably would be cited for refusing to obey a lawful order, a misdemeanor. Calls for militant action mingled with prayer drums and pleas for peace at a rally before the march Saturday to protest alleged treaty violations, unsolved murders and alcohol sales. The marchers stopped several times during the two-mile walk from Pine Ridge to Whiteclay to pray and two people collapsed in the 90-degree heat. As the group reached the border, Indian leaders ordered women and children to the back of the line. Troopers had said they would allow the marchers into Nebraska, but not into the town, whose 22 residents had been ordered to leave the day before by Governor Mike Johanns. While tribal leaders said it would be a peaceful march, participants had vowed to set up teepees and occupy the village until state officials address their concerns. The march marked the second protest in recent days; a week ago, a rally in Whiteclay ended with looting and burning. Authorities and Indian activists alike had begged protesters not to resort to violence at Saturday's march. At an early afternoon rally in Pine Ridge, AIM members wearing black T-shirts and red berets joined members of the Oglala Sioux tribe at the town's community center. "If I had it my way, we'd tear the damn town down to the ground, but we can't do that," American Indian Movement activist Clyde Bellecourt, an organizer of last week's rally, said Saturday in Pine Ridge. With President Clinton visiting the reservation next week, some tribal leaders said it was important to show they can solve problems without resorting to violence. The president is expected to discuss economic development in Indian communities and tour tornado-damaged parts of Oglala. The protest stems from allegations by AIM leaders and members of the Oglala Sioux that the U.S. government has violated an 1868 treaty that reserved parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Nebraska for the Sioux. Tribe members also are upset that four stores in Whiteclay sell more than $3 million worth of beer each year, mostly to Indians with drinking problems. Alcohol is banned on the reservation, a 5,000-square-mile expanse that is home to 15,000 Oglala Sioux and one of the nation's highest alcoholism-related mortality rates. "If the bars weren't there, a lot of our people, including my cousin and younger brother, would be alive today," said Tom Poor Bear, another organizer of last weekend's rally. Also, tribe members say local police have not done enough to investigate the deaths of Wilson Black Elk Jr., 40, and Ronald Hard Heart, 39, whose bodies were found June 8 in a culvert near the Nebraska line. Poor Bear is Black Elk's older half-brother and Hard Heart's cousin. Johanns said the state could not offer much help with the investigation because the bodies were found in South Dakota. Federal and tribal police have announced a $15,000 reward for information on the slayings. 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/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
