-Caveat Lector- <<Like a "bar" 'd number, it repeats ...>> >From zmag.org/zolton.htm <Picture> ON KOSOVARS, APACHES, AND "ETHNIC CLEANSING" By Zoltan Grossman Back in 1991, I was a witness during the Wisconsin Ojibwe spearfishing conflict, monitoring harassment and violence by anti- Indian groups. One night, after listening to too many chants of "Indians Go Home" and "White Man's Land," I decided to warm up for a minute in a car. The car radio had on graphic news reports on the war in the disintegrating Yugoslavia. It struck me that the nationalists calling for a Greater Serbia, a Greater Croatia, and a Greater Albania were using the same rhetoric as the anti-treaty protesters on that cold boat landing. Rather than blaming their own leaders for their economic problems, they were manipulated to blame the ethnic group living next door, and to clear them out of "their" territory. Eight years later, we can see the United States at war in Yugoslavia, supposedly to stop "ethnic cleansing"-- the genocidal forced removal of a population. In this process, Americans want to see white hats and black hats (like in a John Wayne Western), but in reality we can only see "gray hats," with the forced removal of civilians of all ethnic groups. Two wrongs are not making a right. The bombing and the forced expulsions are mutually reinforcing forms of violence that simply feed off of each other. In 1991, likewise, the aerial bombing of northern Wisconsin towns would not have helped the Ojibwe, but merely strengthened the ethnic violence against them. NATO claims the bombing is a "humanitarian intervention" to prevent the sort of ethnic cleansing that has escalated since the air strikes began. This selective humanitarianism spotlights human rights abuses by U.S. enemies like Yugoslavia and Iraq, but downplays the same abuses being perpetrated by U.S. allies such as Turkey, Indonesia, Colombia, and Croatia. Not only has Washington turned a blind eye to their ethnic cleansing, but has actually helped to facilitate it-- including in former Yugoslavia only four years ago. A 1995 offensive by the Croatian Army--with the help of U.S. air strikes and military trainers--ethnically "cleansed" hundreds of thousands of Serbs from the Krajina region, where they had lived for centuries. The Serbs in Croatia had revolted against a government that prevented their self-rule, much like the Kosovar Albanians later did against Serbia. Many of the expelled Krajina Serbs were resettled in Kosovo, exacerbating the ethnic tensions that have now erupted into war. In neighboring Bosnia later that year, the brutal Serbian and Croatian "cleansing" of Muslim communities set the stage for the Dayton Accords. The U.S. rubber- stamped the de facto ethnic partition of the country between Serbia and Croatia, dooming any hope for a multiethnic future that includes all three Bosnian ethnic groups. The idea that NATO opposes Balkan "ethnic cleansing" flies in the face of recent U.S. approval of "pure" ethnic boundaries that were drawn by forced removals. The NATO double-standard also overlooks the history of harsh and methodical "ethnic cleansing" to build the land base of the United States itself. This history not only includes the Trail of Tears from the Southeast, but the forced removals of Navajo (Dine) and Apache from Arizona, many Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe from Wisconsin, and most Mdewakanton Dakota from Minnesota. It also includes modern forced removals, including of the Big Mountain Dine. If we cannot understand our own history, how can we dictate to other countries how to solve their historic ethnic conflicts? Given this history, perhaps the greatest irony is the U.S. Army's recent deployment of helicopter gunships nicknamed "Apaches." When the U.S. Army defeated the Apache Nation in Arizona, the troops rounded up the survivors, locked them in cattle cars, and shipped them to a Florida military fort. Most of the refugees died of malaria or other tropical diseases. California State Representative Tom Hayden observes, "...The much-touted Apache gunships with American crews are preparing to escalate the conflict. The real Apaches...were victims of a brutal, even genocidal, ethnic cleansing by the U.S. armed forces in the last century. That our government can self- righteously go to war to save Kosovo with helicopters named after the victims of our own ethnic cleansing measures the state of denial we are in." Another victim of ethnic cleansing were the Sauk and Meskwaki of Illinois. They became refugees who fled into Wisconsin, only to be massacred on the banks of the Mississippi River. They were led by Makatai Meshekiakiak (Black Hawk), whose English name now identifies another Army attack helicopter. No doubt the U.S. Army will justify the name of its attack helicopters in the same way that schools justify their racist school mascots--as historic symbols intended to "honor warriors." If that is the case, then certainly other national minority groups can be similarly honored by the armies that expelled them from their homelands. Perhaps, a century from now, when the U.S. government is forcibly removing Native Americans from another reservation, the Serbian Army will intervene to "rescue" the refugees, using helicopter gunships nicknamed "Kosovars." __________________________________________________ To be published in the June issue of The Circle (Minneapolis), check it out online at http://thecircleonline.org Zoltan Grossman Midwest Treaty Network 731 State St., Madison WI 53703 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/content.html To read perspectives of Serbians who oppose both Milosevic and NATO, see: http://welcome.to/freeserbia and http://www.keepfaith.com ___________________________________________________ And at www.alphacdc.com/treaty/mtnet.html THE MIDWEST TREATY NETWORK What is the Network? The Midwest Treaty Network is an alliance of Indian and non-Indian community groups that support the sovereign rights of Native American nations. While founded in the context of the Chippewa (Ojibwe) treaty struggle, it is concerned generally with defending and strengthening Native cultures and nationhood, protecting Mother Earth, and fighting racism and other forms of domination throughout our region. The Network has taken a stand against economic and political pressure on indigenous nations to give up their rights. What are the goals of the Network? While they are each involved in important local issues, Network groups have identified three regional priorities to work together on. First, we have stressed safety at the boat landings during Ojibwe spearfishing seasons in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This has meant recruiting and training hundreds of Witnesses for Nonviolence to serve as a presence at the lakes, to document and divert anti-Indian harassment and violence. Second, we support tribal efforts to assert their sovereignty and treaty rights to protect Northern waterways from sulphide mining contamination, nuclear waste storage, and other threats to the Earth. Third, we promote forms of resource co- management on ceded lands, such as those used in Washington state. This also involves promoting economic alternatives to destructive development in Indian and non-Indian communities, and backing the economic sovereignty and self-determination of Native nations. All these goals involve building bridges between Indian and non-Indian communities around issues of common concern: peace, environmental protection and economic stability. Native American Leadership The Midwest Treaty Network was founded on July 4, 1989 at Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin. The Wa-Swa-Gon Treaty Association and other grassroots Native groups provided the critical leadership and direction for the Network. The stance of peaceful witnessing and educational outreach came from the courageous stance of the spearers (in the face of taunt s, rocks, snipers, wrist rockets, and pipe bombs) who reached out for understanding and reconciliation. We can only build on this principled appeal for justice by ensuring the protection both of those who harvest the resources, and the resources themselves. SUPPORTING SOVEREIGNTY...... What are the Treaties? The treaties are international agreements between the United States and Native nations. They are protected by Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, and have been upheld in federal courts. The two treaties with the Lake Superior Ojibwe Nation, for example, guaranteed off-reservation harvesting rights. This a right similar to selling your land but retaining water or access rights. In the U.S., people do not have "equal rights" to other people's property or inheritance. What have been the Main Treaty Issues? The violence and racial taunting toward Wisconsin Ojibwe spearfishers each Spring became a growing concern in the late '80's throughout the Midwest. The issue was not simply about fish or deer; the Ojibwe have caught only up to 3% of the state's walleye harvest, and fewer deer than are killed by autos. Larger issues of law, resources, and racism have been involved. Many concerned people in northern Wisconsin have been caught in the campaign of misinformation and hidden agendas created by the leadership of Protect Americans' Rights and Resources (PARR) and Stop Treaty Abuse (STA). Their escalation against Ojibwe treaty rights came at the same time that Exxon, Kennecott and others find they need to sidestep treaties that block their plans to exploit minerals, and utilities and the Department of Energy are looking for nuclear waste dumpsites. The national effort to abrogate treaties and reduce tribal sovereignty manipulates people to open up their lands to outside exploitation. And now, the treaty controversy has spread to Minnesota, where Ojibwe were arrested in 1993 for spearfishing. What are Alternatives to this Conflict? It is time to move to common ground -protection of the water, wildlife and forests from the grave dangers of sulphide mining, acid rain, timber exploitation, waste from the paper industry, and radioactive waste; respect for cultural and racial diversity; and sustainable economic plans under the control of local communities. As one Wisconsin Oji bwe leader has said, Indian and non-Indian people in the North have more in common with each other than they do with the state government or multinational corporations. Together, communities can not only overcome differences, but find they can solve problems together. <Picture> .....PROTECTING THE LAND How do Treaties Protect the Environment? Treaties provide protection of the environment by protecting Ojibwe access to fish and game resources in ceded territory. Because the treaties have afforded the Ojibwe the status of a sovereign nation, they have been used to raise and replenish fish stocks. Treaty rights and tribal sovereignty can also be a legal tool to fight for clean air and water, to stop mining, an underground nuclear waste dump in Northern granite, and nuclear power plant waste storage (as is planned next to Minnesota's Prairie Island Dakota Reservation). What is the Movement Against Mining in the North? Mining companies have exploited indigenous lands around the world, and now they are returning to our region. In Wisconsin, the movement against mining has not only included the Ojibwe and their supporters, but other Native nations, environmentalists and even sportfishing groups. The resources that once divided Northerners are now bringing them together, to protect the fish from the outside threat of sulphide mining. The Network has played a key role in uniting these groups, in conferences, speaking tours, rallies, and the annual Protect The Earth Gathering. Where are the Mines? Opposition in Wisconsin has centered on three sites, all in Ojibwe treaty-ceded territory: First, Kennecott / Rio Tinto Zinc opened the Ladysmith mine in Rusk County in 1993. The copper-gold mine is on the Flambeau River, 25 miles south of the Lac Courte Oreilles Res. Second, Noranda wants to open the Lynne zinc-silver mine in Oneida County. The site is on the Willow River, about 25 miles south of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation. Third, Exxon and Rio Algom want to open the huge Crandon zinc-copper mine in Forest County. That site is upstream from the nearby wild rice beds of the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Reservation, and the sacred Wolf River that flows through the Menominee Reservation. The Forest County Potawatomi, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Oneida have joined these two tribes to oppose the mine. The Network is working with the tribes to build a strong movement to completely stop the Exxon mine. The Network has gone full circle- from working on divisions between neighbors, to uniting neighbors against a corporation. Midwest Treaty Network, 731 State Street, Madison WI 53703 USA (Make tax-deductible contr A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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