NATIVE_NEWS: Spokane, Wash. - Indian slots illegal
And now:Sonja Keohane [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Friday December 11 1:08 AM ET Judge: Indian Slot Machines Illegal SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A federal judge ruled Thursday that slot machines at tribal casinos are illegal, clearing the way for the government to seize the gambling devices from two eastern Washington Indian reservations. The Spokane Tribe plans to appeal U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, tribal vice chairman John Kieffer said. The judge found the slot machines are illegal under the Johnson Act, a 1950s anti-organized crime law that bans slot machines on Indian reservations. Lawyers for the Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Colville Tribes had filed a motion seeking to order federal prosecutors to sue Washington state rather than attempt to seize the slot machines. The motion was denied. The ruling allows federal marshals to seize slots from the Spokane and Colville reservations before the outcome of any appeal, assistant U.S. attorney Jim Shively said. As many as 600 people may be laid off at the Spokane tribe's four casinos, which feature a total of about 1,300 slots machines, Kieffer said. ``Without the slots, we'll definitely have to close our doors,'' he said.
NATIVE_NEWS: Action On Indian Reburial Demanded
And now:Sonja Keohane [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/local/ Action On Indian Reburial Demanded - (SANTA FE) -- They rest in pieces... but not in peace. Armond Minthorn, a member of the Umatilla tribe of eastern Oregon, says the bones of thousands of American Indians lie in boxes in the storage rooms of American institutions. They were dug up by archaeologists, anthropologists and illegal grave diggers. Minthorn says they have waited too long for reburial and the time for excuses has passed. He is a member of the federal review committee in charge of overseeing compliance with the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The panel is meeting in Santa Fe this week. The act was passed eight years ago... allowing tribes to seek the return of skeletons, burial objects and other sacred items taken from the graves of their ancestors. But the law has proved difficult to enforce.
NATIVE_NEWS: Ancient Bones Found
And now:Sonja Keohane [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/local/state/california Ancient Bones Found - (TORRANCE) -- Archaeologists have uncovered the bones of at least 50 people at an Indian burial site located on Arco refinery property. Experts are calling the discovery the most unique archaeological find in Southern California. There are indications that the people met a violent end and were buried hastily. The dig began September 12th at the site once populated by the Gabrielino Indian tribe. The team's complete findings will be presented to the Society for California Archaeologists. The remains will be cremated and re-buried in an Indian ceremony.
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: CANADA ON SELF-DETERMINATION DAY 6
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1904 04:03:44 +0100 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: NetWarriors/WarriorNET Network [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CANADA ON SELF-DETERMINATION DAY 6 Statement of Canada on Self-determination UN Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples December 7, 1998 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The issue of self-determination is of fundamental importance to Indigenous Peoples and is central to the Draft Declaration. Canada spoke at length about our understanding of the evolving nature of this right at the Second Meeting of the Working Group in 1996, and our statement from that year remains the definitive expression of Canada's position. However, I would likely to briefly restate a number of key points which are drawn from it. The right of self-determination is set out in Article 1 of the two international covenants. We recognize that this right applies equally to all collectivities, indigenous and non-indigenous, which qualify as peoples under international law. Neither the term self-determination nor peoples is clearly defined under international law. Traditionally, the right of self-determination has been understood to apply to the entire population of a state and to peoples in a colonial situation where it was equated essentially with the right to statehood. The question raised by the Draft Declaration is whether the right also exists to peoples, including indigenous peoples, living within an existing democratic state, and if so, what that right consists of. A survey of state documents and academic literature suggests the continuing evolution in the understanding of the right of self-determination. In addition, over the past several years, we have witnessed an evolution in the views of some states as a result of the discussion in this working group. Self-determination is now seen by many as an on-going right which can continue to be enjoyed in the functioning of a democracy, without threatening the political or territorial integrity of the state. For its part, the government of Canada accepts the right of self-determination for indigenous peoples which respects the political, constitutional and territorial integrity of democratic states. We see no necessary incompatibility between the mainenance of the territorial integrity of the state and the right of peoples to attain the full measure of self- determination. A state whose government represents the will of the people or peoples resident within its territory, on a basis of equality and without discrimination, and respect the principles of self-determination in ts own internal arrangements is entitled to the protection, under international law, of its territorial integrity. In this context the right of self-dtermination is intended to promote harmonious relations between states and indignous peoples. Exercise of the right must therefore involve negotiations between the states and indigenous peoples. These negotiations will need to take account of the jurisdiction, responsibilities and competence of governments, as well as..." notice The statement ended shortly after this; unfortunately my tape ran out before the government representative finished speaking. My sincere apologies. If any of you out there can get a complete copy, that would be extremely helpful. Thank you. Val Dedication to Solidarity Calling for World Action NetWarriors http://hookele.com/netwarriors Peace without Truth is Genocide Una Paz sin la Verdad es Genocidio La paix sans la verite est Genocide Subscribe to WarriorNET A discussion listserve dedicated to Indigenous Solidarity SUBSCRIBE? Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], no subject in the header and in the body write: subscribe warriornet your email addresss In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Tribal Compact Committee: Indian Compacts Will Create...
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Tribal Compact Committee: Indian Compacts Will Create... Tribal Compact Committee: Indian Compacts Will Create 3,400 New Jobs in Michigan LANSING, Mich., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A tribal-state gaming compact will ensure economic development, tribal self-sufficiency and employment in Michigan. The compacts are expected to generate more than 3,400 jobs, $215 million in economic development and $400-500 million in revenues. The Michigan House of Representatives is expected to consider a resolution this week concurring a compact negotiated between Gov. John Engler and leaders of Michigan's four newly reaffirmed federal tribes. The agreement, required by federal law, allows tribes to operate casinos on Indian land. Under the agreement, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians will contribute approximately $29 million a year to the state. Each tribe will be required to make payments to the Michigan Renaissance Fund in an amount equal to eight percent of net revenues derived from slot machines at the casino. The Renaissance Fund currently funds 10,000 scholarships for high tech training at Michigan Community Colleges. The four casinos will make an initial investment of over $215 million in construction cost alone. This investment will support more than 2,500 construction jobs in out-state Michigan. The casinos will create 3,400 new jobs supported by more than $400 million in new revenues. The gaming compacts will help the tribes continue the path toward self- sufficiency. "We've seen in Michigan how tribal gaming has helped strengthen tribal government and promote self-sufficiency," said Mike Wesaw, Treasurer of the Pokagon Band. "Tribal gaming has enabled tribes to provide jobs, housing, education, health care and, especially care for our elders. If not for the perseverance of our elders, we wouldn't be where we are today." "Concurrence of our compact provides the tribes the ability to pursue economic development opportunities," said Bob Guenthardt, Tribal Chairman of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. "Tribes began operating gaming establishments for one reason, to generate revenues to help tribal members." Tribal gaming is a $600 million industry in Michigan and growing annually. More than five million visits are made annually to Michigan casinos. Michigan Native American gaming operations today provide over 5,000 jobs in perennially depressed northern Michigan -- nearly 36 percent to Native Americans. The gaming establishments are also generating countless indirect employment opportunities in nearby hotels, restaurants and other tourism- related jobs. In several counties, including Baraga, Isabella, Leelanau and Chippewa, Native American gaming enterprises are the largest private sector employer in the county. According to a study, 34 percent of those working in Native American gaming enterprises were on welfare or other government assistance programs prior to getting their jobs; 38 percent were unemployed; and another 17 percent were part-time workers who are now working full time. SOURCE Tribal Compact Committee CO: Tribal Compact Committee ST: Michigan IN: CNO SU: 12/07/98 19:08 EST http://www.prnewswire.com To edit your profile, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles" NewsProfiles/A. For all of today's news, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:News"News/A. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: American Indian Twins Adopted
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 01:28:52 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Fwd: American Indian Twins Adopted X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 214 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: American Indian Twins Adopted Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 06:25:22 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit American Indian Twins Adopted .c The Associated Press By NANCY NUSSBAUM COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A five-year legal battle over the adoption of twin girls that sparked congressional debate over American Indian sovereignty is officially over. Jim and Collet Rost signed adoption papers Monday for 5-year-olds Bridget and Lucy. The girls, born before parents Richard and Cindy Adams were married, were put up for adoption and had been raised since they were 2 weeks old by the Rosts. But the birth parents later sought their return, citing a federal law that gives Indian parents or any tribal members the first right to adopt Indian children. Richard Adams is part Pomo, a northern Californian tribe, and Cindy Adams is half Yaqui, a Southwestern tribe. The case prompted debate on Capitol Hill about whether changes were needed in the federal law, the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. The law was written to curb a rise in adoptions of Indian children by non-Indians, a trend that threatened the survival of some tribes. ``I don't believe it was meant to be used in the way it was used in our case,'' Mrs. Rost said. ``It was put into play to keep white social workers from putting Native American children in non-Native American families.'' In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a California Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the Rosts. The appeals court had ordered that a trial court should determine whether the birth parents had significant social, cultural or political affiliation with their tribes before the twins were born. The dispute was settled when the Adamses agreed last year to allow the adoption and the Rosts agreed to bring the girls to California for visits every other year until age 18. ``They are welcome to come out here and visit them as well,'' Mrs. Rost said. AP-NY-12-08-98 0623EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. To edit your profile, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles" NewsProfiles/A. For all of today's news, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:News"News/A. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: History: A Hundred Years Ago - Carlisle - week 85
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 18:11:36 -0500 From: Landis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: History: A Hundred Years Ago - Carlisle - week 85 THE INDIAN HELPER ~%^%~ A WEEKLY LETTER -FROM THE- Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa. VOL. XIV. FRIDAY, December 9, 1898 NUMBER 8 OUR CHIEFEST DUTY. - ONE'S chiefest duty here below Is not the seeming great to do, That the vain world may pause to see, But in steadfast humility To walk the common walk, and bear The thousand things, the trifling care, In love, with wisdom, patiently, Thus each one in his narrow groove The great world nearer God may move. -MATTHEW HUNT. THE ONEIDAS UNLAWFULLY KEPT FROM VOTING. - Under the act of Congress providing for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians, many of the western tribes are entitled to, and have for some time past exercised, the privilege of voting at general elections. The initial attempt of the Indian to vote is always strongly opposed by the whites, sometimes coming from racial antagonism and sometimes from the political complexion of the precinct in which the Indian suffer to vote. At the last general election held in the State of Wisconsin the Oneida Indians for the first time offered to vote, although under the law they became citizens of the United States in 1889. Induced to take this step by their missionary, Rev. W. W. Soule, who secured speakers from the adjacent towns to give the Indians instruction in the Australian ballot system and to give them some idea of the subjects upon which the different parties are divided, there were many Indians at the several voting places, adjacent to the Oneida reservation, on election day. At all of the voting places except two the Indian vote was accepted without question. At one there was a valid legal technicality offered, at the other - no excuse whatever, except that the Indians were Indians and of a political turn of mind not in accordance with the ideas of the chairman of the Election Board. The Indians felt the refusal very keenly and made very effort to induce the Board to allow them to cast their vote. With Mr. Soule at their head, they argued with the Chairman, presented their patents as evidence of their right together with a letter from the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs in which it is conceded that the Indians are citizens, and lastly offering to accompany each and every vote with an affidavit in accordance with the laws of the State, which demand the Board had no legal right to refuse, but all to no avail. Through the kind intercession of good friends the District Attorney for the county of Outigamie, Wisconsin, has commenced criminal proceedings against the Board of Elections and the outcome will be watched with interest by all who have the welfare of the Indians in view. Among the many reasons given for denying the Indians the right of suffrage was "as long as the Indians could not be given whisky or keep a saloon they were not citizens of the United States." D.W. == WANTS TO KNOW. On page 123 of Eggleston's larger history of the United States it is stated that the Iriquois Indians gave to Peter Schuyler the name "Quider." I have not been able to find the meaning of the word. Will you kindly give it in your columns. -[A subscriber who enjoys your little paper. We have representatives from 74 tribes of Indians at our school. Can any one help the inquirer on the name "Quider"? The Man-on-the-band-stand not being an Indian is unable to give the desired information, but will publish the answer if given by some one who knows. The probability is that no one of this day and age knows. We would suggest that the party write the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (page 2) THE INDIAN HELPER PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY --AT THE-- Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa., BY INDIAN BOYS. --- THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The man-on-the-band-stand who is NOT an Indian. P R I C E: --10 C E N T S A Y E A R Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss Marianna Burgess, Supt. of Printing. Do not hesitate to take the HELPER from the Post Office for if you have not paid for it some one else has. It is paid for in advance. A note came up
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: [DOEWatch] Moratorium on nuclear waste shipments stands
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 17:33:09 EST To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 226 Mailing-List: list [EMAIL PROTECTED]; contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [DOEWatch] Moratorium on nuclear waste shipments stands From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Source: A HREF="http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Dec-09-Wed-1998/news/10199781.html "http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Dec-09-Wed-1998/news/10199781.html = December 09, 1998 Moratorium on nuclear waste shipments stands Associated Press KINGMAN, Ariz.-- Nearly a year after a container filled with low-level nuclear waste leaked from a truck near Kingman, a moratorium on shipments from a former uranium processing plant in Ohio remains in place. A spokeswoman for the firm hauling the waste said the company hopes to resume shipments early next year. Last December, the U.S. Department of Energy halted shipments from the agency's Fernald site 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati after leaks were discovered on a truck 20 miles east of Kingman. Leaks were also found on three other trucks bound for the Nevada Test Site, a dumping ground for the nation's nuclear waste. The site is 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The DOE said the leaking material did not pose a danger to humans or the environment. Prior to the shutdown, an average of 13 truckloads passed through Flagstaff and Kingman en route to Nevada. Kathy Graham, a spokeswoman for the firm hauling the waste from Ohio, said once shipments resume they will continue rolling through 2006 to complete the cleanup, which began in 1989. Any future shipments would have to be cleared by Nevada test site officials and DOE headquarters. === Help support ONElist, while generating interest in your product or service. ONElist has a variety of advertising packages. Visit http://www.onelist.com/advert.html for more information. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Leech Lake Chairman Speaks Out on Treaty Rights
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: My apologies for late distribution of some of this mail and the fact that you will be receiving it in clumps today and tomorrow. My power pack blew on my computer and took my hard drive along with itam really thank ful for back up abilities so not too much has been lost.. Please bear with us the next couple of days.. Jiawenh, Ishgooda X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 21:26:59 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bernard Feather Rock) Subject: Leech Lake Chairman Speaks Out on Treaty Rights Leech Lake officials join Mille Lacs treaty case CASS LAKE -- Leech Lake tribal officials join with fellow Chippewas at Mille Lacs in defending treaty rights, Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Eli Hunt said Tuesday. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in an 8-year-old treaty case involving how the Mille Lacs band and non-Indians divide fish and game in an area covering parts of a dozen counties of east-central Minnesota, including Lake Mille Lacs, the state's premier walleye lake. How the court decides could affect the way centrury-old treaties are upheld between Indian nations and state and federal governments. The state of Minnesota is appealing lower court decision reaffirming the Mille Lacs band's right to hunt and fish under an 1837 treaty. If the court decides "in favor of the state of Minnesota, it will be a clear message to Indian people that treaties may be the 'supreme law of the land' except for Indian tribes," Hunt said in a statement. "It will be a clear message that 'special rights' do indeed exist but only for the members of dominant society. It will be a clear statement that the U.S. government supports the continued oppression of Indian people." While the case was being heard last week in Washington, D.C., Hunt said Leech Lake tribal leaders and band members participated in a ceremony at Cass Lake. Spiritual elder Bill Bobolink conducted a pipe ceremony. "he prayed to the Great Spirit, asking that the treaties between Indian tribes and the government be honored," Hunt said. George Ross, a Leech Lake minister, also offered prayers and a drum group, led by Tribal Council District I Rep. Pete White, drummed and sang traditional songs. The Leech Lake ceremony was one of many repeated throughout the nation, Hunt said. "This was our way of uniting with our brothers and sisters in Washington, D.C., who were conducting a similar ceremony -- to defend our rights, to call for justice." Many sport anglers and others charge that modern and savvy Indian tribes have used casino profits and politically correct courts to revive obsolete privileges and create unequal rights. "When will the Anishinaabeg be respected as a race of people with traditions, a culture and a history that need to be preserved for our children -- our future?" asks Hunt. "When will people stop referring to our rights as special rights and start referring to them for what they really are -- our inherent rights as human beings, and as sovereign nations?" The Supreme Court could make a ruling as soon as February or as late as July. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: a story of subsistence
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 21:26:52 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bernard Feather Rock) Subject: a story of subsistence Source: Cass Lake Times 12/10/1998 By Robby Robinson Nature made survival possible At 88-years of age, Josie (Josephine) Ryan says she no longer does the exact and patient craft of beading, even though she was found at the Ojibwe Holiday Craft Show last week behind a table covered in bead, leather and birch bark crafts. No, these days Ryan, of Bena, is satisfied to teach the skills that have helped support her and her family a half century and to find ways to market the work that they do. Ryan is a regular at craft shows around the area. She has found avenues to market her and other people's craft items around the country and she still teaches a course at Split Rock and a college course in Ojibwe arts at Bemidji State University. "I've been teaching this art class at the college for 25 years," she noted, "but it is a little hard to get there now since I no longer drive." Ryan said that her career in beadwork and crafts was as much or more spurred by the need to make an income as her love of crafts. Thirtysome years ago her husband, Alan Ryan, died and left her with two little boys, ages six and siven. "We didn't have any AFDC back then," she recalled. "If I wanted something for these children I had to work for it." And work she did. The woods, lakes and her own hard work were the keys to her success. During the winter monthes she said she collected birchbark and worked on her crafts, which she would sell wherever she could. In the spring there were trees to tap and maple sugar and syrup to make; in the summer it was berry picking time -- blueberries, raspberries, strawberries-- and wild ricing; and in the fall whitefish, which were caught and smoked. In winter wreathes for the holiday, more craft or anything else she could market to make a living. Her two boys, Jim and Roy, are now in their forties and Josie speaks with pride about them and her grandchildren. Although she cannot see well enough to do the intricate crafts she knows so well, she takes some pride in teaching others whatever she can. Her hands have supported her these many years and now others are, with her coaching and marketing, of course. "Nobody needs to be poor if they just work," she concluded. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Native American leaders and environmental activists ask Gov.-elect Davis to stop Ward Valley
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: "Save Ward Valley" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "Mike Means" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Native American leaders and environmental activists ask Gov.-elect Davis to stop Ward Valley Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 17:56:12 -0800 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1 My apologies! I thought I had sent this out that Monday evening. I just discovered that it did not go out. Native American and Environmental Activists Ask California Governor-Elect Gray Davis to Reject the Ward Valley Nuclear Dump by Philip M. Klasky (Sacramento, California) -- While the new members of the California state legislature were being sworn in today, Native American leaders and environmental activists delivered a letter signed by over 135 organizations calling for Governor-elect Gray Davis to reject the proposal for a controversial nuclear waste dump at Ward Valley, California. Signatories included some of the nation's largest environmental organizations, indigenous rights groups and environmental organizations from Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. For the last eight years, Governor Pete Wilson has made construction of the nuclear dump a centerpiece of his political agenda. The nuclear power industry plans to bury radioactive wastes, mostly from nuclear power plants, in shallow, unlined trenches, above an aquifer, twenty miles from the Colorado River, in the midst of critical habitat for an endangered species and on land considered sacred aboriginal territory for the five lower Colorado River Indian tribes. The letter states that the dump project would threaten the Colorado River, source of water for 22 million people in the United States and Mexico and violate environmental justice mandates. The letter asks Davis to withdraw the state of California's request for the land and bring to an end the decade long fight over the dump project. Davis also received a letter from Reverend Jesse Jackson delivered by representatives of the Rainbow Coalition stating that, "Indian peoples and communities of color should not be the dumping ground for dangerous wastes and reckless waste disposal projects." San Francisco Supervisor Gavin Newsom wrote to Davis reminding him that the City and County of San Francisco passed a resolution this last year opposing the dump project. Los Angeles, Berkeley, Marin, Imperial and San Bernardino Counties have also passed similar resolutions. As State Controller, Gray Davis opposed the dump project on both environmental and economic grounds. Davis authored a report that found, based on experience at other failed dump sites, that leakages at the Ward Valley facility could cost California taxpayers as much as $500 million in clean-up costs. Earlier this year, the top Democratic leadership of the state legislature alleged that the method by which the Wilson administration has attempted to obtain the federal land at Ward Valley is illegal. This claim coupled with an historic 113 day occupation of the proposed dump site by Native American and environmental activists halted a federal environmental review of the proposal. During his recent election campaign, Davis expressed serious concerns about the proposed dump contractor, US Ecology, who was licensed by the Wilson administration to build the facility. Formerly known as Nuclear Engineering Company, US Ecology has left a trail of leaking dumps and litigation across the country. All four of their nuclear waste dumps, in Washington, Kentucky, Illinois and Nevada, are leaking. Their Maxey Flats, Kentucky facility was put on the EPA's Superfund list of most polluted sites after plutonium and other radioactive wastes were discovered leaking from the dump. Earlier this year, Nebraska turned away a US Ecology nuclear waste dump proposal over concern about the company's track record compounded by the firm's deteriorating financial condition. In her bid for re-election, Senator Barbara Boxer successfully campaigned on her long-standing opposition to the Ward Valley dump. Public opinion polls show that a majority of Californians oppose the dump project, although many are unaware of the proposal. The Wilson administration has been an aggressive dump proponent. The state of California, along with US Ecology, is currently suing the federal government in federal district court in an attempt to force the government to transfer the land at Ward Valley to the state and begin construction of the dump. Davis has yet to indicate what he decide to do about the proposed dump project once he assumes office in January 1999. Save Ward Valley 107 F Street Needles, CA 92363 ph. 760/326-6267 fax 760/326-6268 www.shundahai.org/SWVAction.html http://earthrunner.com/savewardvalley www.ctaz.com/~swv1 http://banwaste.envirolink.org www.alphacdc.com/ien/wardvly4.html www.greenaction.org In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment
NATIVE_NEWS: [Fwd: Gathering of Cultures]
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 11:03:36 -0800 From: McNabbUC [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Something of interest? LeeAnn McNabb From: NCDM [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: NCDM Precedence: bulk Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] NATIVE AMERICAN AND XICANO ETHINICITIES: A GATHERING OF CULTURES An Eastern Michigan University Symposium Friday, January 22--Saturday, January 23 McKenny Union Ballroom Free and open to the public, Families and kids welcome This symposium aims to celebrate the rich cultural heritage's of both the Native American and Xicano communities, address contemporary struggles --often common ones-- that face those communities, enrich EMU's curriculum by expanding offering in NATIVE AMERICAN and XICANO STUDIES, and to welcome members of these communities in Southeast Michigan's to the EMU campus. On Friday afternoon/evening, two keynote speakers, relating Native American and Xicano views, will begin the discussion. Followed by a community feast, an evening of cultural program featuring Native American and Xicano music, dancing, and storytelling. The program continues on Saturday with panels of Xicano and Native American educators, students, and community activist. SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE __ Friday, January 22 4:00 PM Two Keynote Addresses Winona LaDuke is an acclaimed Anishinaabe activist and the author of "Last Standing Women" (1997). She was Ralph Nader's Vice Presidential candidate on the Green Party Ticket for the 1996 election. She founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project and the Indigenous Women's Network. She speaks prophetically about issues of justice concerning Native people, women, and the environment. Roberto Rodriguez is a Chicano journalist whose syndicated "Latino Spectrum" column appears in 40 newspapers nationwide. He has won a number of state and national awards in fiction. He is the author of "The X in La Raza II" and, most recently, of "Codex Tamuanchan:On Becoming Human". 6:30 PM Community Feast 7:30 PM A GATHERING OF CULTURES: AN EVENING IN SONG, DANCE, STORYTELLING Featuring: * Larry Plamondon, Odawa Storyteller * Treetown Singers Dance in the Great Lakes Tradition * Nahua Olin, Music Dance in the Mexica Tradition Saturday, January 23 10:00-1:00 THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES Panel Discussion and breakout session putting scholars, students and local community leaders in dialogue on Native American and Xicano Studies and what they might mean for Eastern Michigan University. *** SPONSORS: STEERING COMMITTEE FOR NATIVE AMERICAN/XICANO STUDIES, EMU OFFICE OF CAMPUS LIFE, EMU WOMEN'S STUDIES PROIGRAM, NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENT ORGANIZATION, XICANO STUDENT ASSOCIATION, MOVIMIENTO ESTUDIANTIL XICANO DE AZTLAN, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CHICANA/CHICANO STUDIES, XICANO DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF DETROIT, BROWN BERETS OF AZTLAN, NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION OF UOFMICHIGAN, AND THE UNITED FARM WORKERS. *** HOTEL INFO: THESE ARE THREE CLOSEST HOTELS IN THE AREA MARIOTT AT EAGLE CREST 1275 S. HURON ST YPSILANTI,MI 48197 734.487.2000 DAYS INN 2380 CARPENTER RD ANN ARBOR, MI 48108 734.205.2003 COMFORT INN 2455 CARPENTER RD ANN ARBOR, MI 48108 734.973.6100 *** DIRECTIONS: Eastern Michigan University is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan a half an hour west of Detroit and ten minutes east of Ann Arbor. FROM DETROIT: Follow I-94 west until you get to the Ypsilanti- Huron River Drive EXIT... turn right on Huron River Drive and follow it past Michigan Ave all the way to Cross St where you will turn left. Follow Cross St just past the big water tower will be on your left and McKenny Union will be to your right. FROM Chicago: Follow I-94 east until you get to the Ypsilanti- Huron River Drive and turn left follow it past Michigan Ave all the way to Cross St where you will turn left. Follow Cross St just past the big water tower will be on your left and McKenny Union will be to your right. From Toledo: Follow M-23 north past the I-94 junction to the Washtenaw Ave-Ypsilanti Exit, be sure that you take the one that says Ypsilanti and not the one that says Ann Arbor. Follow Washtenaw all the way to Oakwood St a block right before the big water tower. Turn left at Oakwood then turn right on the first drive you see that parking lot is the Mckenny Union Paking Lot. From Flint: Follow M-23 south to the Washtenaw Ave-Ypsilanti Exit, be sure that you take the Ypsilanti and not the one that says Ann Arbor. Follow Washtenaw all the way to Oakwood St a block before the big water tower. Turn left at Oakwood then turn right on the first drive you see, that parking lotis the Mckenny Union Parking Lot.
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Urgent Press Release UN, FN's CANZUS (Can,NZealand,US)
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail News for Macintosh - 3.0c (405) Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 15:54:05 + Subject: Urgent Press Release UN, FN's CANZUS (Can,NZealand,US) From: Cliff Alles-Curie To: Cliff Alles-Curie press release ASHIGANING/MICHIGAN, USA - On Friday, December 11, 12pm EST, Madam Erica-Irene Daes (Chair of the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples) will deliver a brief statement on the history of indigenous peoples work at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite lip service paid to celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the United Universal Declaration of Human Rights this December 10th, countries including the USA, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand are denounced and excoriated by indigenous peoples throughout the world, and by their representatives and supporters in Geneva, Switzerland at the Open-Ended Intersessional Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. Specifically, the USA and other colonial nation-states are attacking the proposed United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - a document close to twenty years in the making - by attempting to undermine such principles as self-determination and sovereignty, international law regarding sovereign nations (which includes Native American tribes defined as sovereign nations) and attempting to impose the ethnocidal and conquest-based US ³Indian² policy as the model for other nation-states to follow. The US ³policy² has been historically noted for genocide in the form of military massacres, the reservation system, and ethnocidal legislation and jurisprudence, among many other atrocities. Indigenous peoples throughout the world are demanding that the colonial nation-states cease and desist in their legal trickery and maneuvers - such as the US¹s insistence on the difference between people¹ and peoples¹ - and approve the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which indeed was already passed by the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights in 1994. Article 3 is particularly important, as it regards self-determination. Since Article 6 of the US Constitution already recognizes Native American tribes as sovereign nations, it is imperative that Article 3, along with the entire Draft Declaration, be approved! For a media packet, spokespersons and other info please contact: Cliff Alles-Curie, Secretary, Ashiganing American Indian Movement, 616/866-4963, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [http://www.horizons.k12.mi.us/~aim/] -or- Kekula Crawford - Netwarriors, in Geneva, Switzerland- e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [http://hookele.com/netwarriors] In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: American Indians helped a major ring run by Chinese
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 16:49:12 EST Subject: American Indians helped a major ring run by Chinese X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 214 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian officials charged Thursday that American Indians helped a major ring run by Chinese nationals smuggle 3,600 immigrants through a Mohawk reservation on the border of the two nations. In providing new details on the largest smuggling operation ever broken up on the U.S. northern border, they said the ring smuggled the Chinese immigrants from Canada through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on their way to New York City. Of the 35 people arrested in the two countries, eight were American Indians who allegedly conspired with the ring to bring the young men from China's Fujian Province into the United States over the past two years, the officials said. ``This is the first large-scale alien smuggling operation we have encountered on the northern border,'' U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner told a news conference. ``I am proud to announce the crippling of another large, complex organization trafficking in human beings, this one using Northern American Indian territory to attempt to evade the law,'' she said. The officials said the ring brought the Chinese nationals into Toronto or Vancouver using fraudulent documents. The immigrants were taken to the Canadian border city of Cornwall, Ontario, transported across the St. Lawrence River by boat to the Indian reservation in upstate New York and then driven to New York City, the officials said. They said the ring collected about $47,000 per person, or a total of about $170 million. They conceded the vast Indian reservation land along the river was lightly patrolled and vulnerable to smugglers. Meissner said immigration authorities have discovered no other cases of Indian reservation land along the U.S.-Canadian border being used by smugglers. The joint operation, involving U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies, was first disclosed Wednesday by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The officials said the initial tip that triggered the year-long investigation came to the RCMP, and that both nations used extensive wiretaps to gather evidence. A 1996 U.S. law allowed wiretapping in alien smuggling cases. While the Canadians dubbed the first phase of the investigation ``Project Othello,'' the U.S. officials called it ''Operation Over the Rainbow II.'' Besides the RCMP and U.S. immigration agents, other law enforcement agencies taking part in the investigation were the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police, the New York State and the Toronto police, and the FBI. It marked the second major U.S. alien smuggling crackdown announced in the past three weeks. The Immigration and Naturalization Service last month said it dismantled the largest immigration smuggling ring in U.S. history, an operation that brought 7,200 illegal aliens into the United States in the last two years. 15:39 12-10-98 In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Justices Defend Minority Hiring
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 17:28:37 EST Subject: Fwd: Justices Defend Minority Hiring X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 214 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Justices Defend Minority Hiring Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 17:04:30 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Justices Defend Minority Hiring .c The Associated Press By LAURIE ASSEO WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Supreme Court justices defended the court's record on hiring minority and female law clerks, telling high school students Thursday that the justices do the best they can in choosing from qualified applicants. ``We do not discriminate here on the basis of gender or race or anything else,'' Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said during an hour-long session with students from three high schools. ``We try to get the best we can.'' Justice Stephen G. Breyer said it will take time to build the pool of qualified minority applicants. ``But even if you look at the numbers you can see how it's changing,'' he added. O'Connor and Breyer met in an elegant court conference room with students from Benjamin Banneker High School of Washington and Mt. Vernon High School of Alexandria, Va. Students from Sandra Day O'Connor High School in Austin, Texas, participated by satellite hookup, and the session was televised live on C-SPAN 2. O'Connor told the students she did not think the high court's daily routine would be disrupted if President Clinton is impeached and goes on trial in the Senate, where Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist would preside. Senate trial proceedings might not begin until the afternoons, she said, adding, ``So, presumably a little work could take place in the mornings'' at the Supreme Court. One of the students asked O'Connor and Breyer about the ``lack of diversity'' among the court's law clerks. The NAACP and others have accused the court in recent months of hiring too few minorities and women as clerks. The clerks help the justices screen new cases, do research and draft opinions. USA Today reported that blacks make up less than 2 percent of the 428 law clerks hired by the court's current nine justices during their tenures and that fewer than 25 percent of those clerks have been women. In a recent letter to three black members of Congress, Rehnquist rejected calls for discussion of the issue with minority bar groups. Each justice hires his or her own clerks independently, O'Connor told the high school students. ``I've had clerks of different races,'' O'Connor said. ``I have had black clerks, I have had Asian clerks, I have had Hispanic clerks, I've had Indian- Americans, Latvian Americans, Ukrainian Americans. You name it, I've had them and I try to hire a great many female clerks.'' Breyer said the lower number of minority clerks reflects ``a world in which there has been considerable underprivilege, and that underprivilege is something that has to be corrected over time.'' He said he has hired minorities among the 10 men and 10 women he has chosen as clerks over the past four years. One student asked the justices which past high court cases they would like to have participated in. Breyer named the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case that ended school segregation, noting that he and O'Connor ``can remember a time when actually the law required segregation of the races.'' The Brown ruling ``was nine people thinking the law could perhaps change the habits of more than 90 million people,'' Breyer added. ``Would you like to be involved in that? Sure.'' O'Connor mentioned the 1803 Marbury vs. Madison decision that established the court's authority to declare federal laws unconstitutional. The two justices explained to the students how the high court works, from a decision to hear a case, through written briefing, oral arguments and a ruling. The justices often disagree strongly when they meet in private conference to discuss cases, Breyer said. However, he added, ``I have never heard a voice raised in anger.'' Asked what the court will be like in the next century, O'Connor said it will work much as it does now, although the legal issues may be different. ``Whatever the nation's concerns will be in the next century, those concerns will be reflected'' in the cases before the court, she said. AP-NY-12-10-98 1704EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. To edit your profile, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles" NewsProfiles/A. For all of today's news, go to keyword A HREF="aol://1722:News"News/A. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Attacks Increase on Supporter of Hispanic Indian school
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "Gary Glenn" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Attacks Increase on Supporter of Hispanic Indian school Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 17:23:40 -0500 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2377.0 Importance: Normal Below is a follow up story on Flint (Michigan) Board of Education member Lily Tamez Kehoe, who is being attacked and threatened with her job for supporting the creation of a new public charter school for Latino and Native American children. Following the FLINT JOURNAL article are two e-mail messages from supporters of that new school, one of whom asked me to share his or her comments but to withhold his or her identity, because, "Right now I have an invisible 'target sign' on my backside." Your assistance in defending school board member Kehoe in the exercise of her free speech rights and her efforts to help Hispanic and Native American children is deeply appreciated. GARY GLENN President School Choice YES! 517-839-4500 517-839-4506 (fax) www.SchoolChoiceYES.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://fl.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/oustli$01.frm SCHOOLS CHIEF: KEHOE SHOULD QUIT Thursday, December 10, 1998 by Dave Murray JOURNAL EDUCATION WRITER FLINT - The head of the Flint Board of Education is calling for the resignation of board member Lily Tamez Kehoe, saying Kehoe's support for a charter school shows an "utter disregard" of her duties. Board President Randall G. Talifarro on Wednesday sent a three-page letter to board members and The Flint Journal attacking Kehoe, who said she has no intention of stepping down. "I can't legally demand that she resign," Talifarro said of the letter. "I can't force her to leave the board. But I think her actions strongly warrant it." Kehoe dismissed the letter, calling Talifarro's demand at best a severe overreaction and at worst part of a smear campaign orchestrated by administrators who have the most to lose if a charter school opens in the city. "I don't know why they find what I did so threatening," she said. "Nobody is forced to attend a charter school. If they're truly confident that they are doing the very best they can for the Hispanic and American Indian children, then nobody will want to attend the charter school and they have nothing to fear." A letter from Kehoe was included in an application filed by the Flint Advantage Academy to open a charter school directed at Hispanic and American Indian students. The application was sent to Central Michigan University and was not intended for public release. It was obtained by The Journal through the Freedom of Information Act. In the letter, Kehoe states that the combined dropout rate for Hispanic and American Indian students is 65 percent, the culture for such children is typically ignored in traditional public schools and a subtle racism makes students feel unwelcome. Kehoe has said she wrote the letter in her role as executive director of the Spanish Speaking Information Center and said she has no other role with the proposed school. Flint Advantage Academy's proposal is one of 10 applications to open charter schools in the Flint area being mulled by CMU. Kehoe said she can't understand why board leaders - who read a seven-page statement criticizing her at last week's meeting - would spend so much time rebuking her, yet continue to ignore the other nine proposals. Charter schools are independent public schools that operate with the approval of a university or school district. The schools can not charge tuition and receive state aid. Talifarro estimates that Flint Advantage Academy would cost the district $3 million a year in state aid if it opens with 540 students as the founders anticipate. "Instead of using her position on the Board of Education to advance the interests of Latino and American Indian students within our own school system, Ms. Kehoe has given her support to the Advantage charter school," he said in the letter. "This, in my opinion, is a breach of her duty ... and a violation of her oath of office... . "In my opinion, a Flint Board of Education member, who by supporting local charter school efforts, potentially drains the resources of her own district should no longer serve on this board." Talifarro is the second district leader to suggest Kehoe step down. George Wingfield, president of the city's teachers union, last week said Kehoe probably should not remain on the board. He also said he will call for her resignation in January. His remarks have drawn fire from School Choice YES!, a Midland-based group working to place a tuition tax credit plan on the 2000 ballot. Gary Glenn, executive director of School Choice YES!, said Wingfield's message appears bigoted unless he demands the resignation of every district employee with a child in private schools and charter schools. Wingfield said he did not want to respond to the group's statement. Dave Murray covers education. He can be reached at (810) 766-6383 or by
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Supplies needed
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 08:43:40 -0800 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Robert Dorman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Supplies needed From BIGMTLIST The following is a request for some specific supplies that a supporter (Dana Brewer) is trying to get together to bring to the people on the land in Arizona. If you can help her out, please contact her directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 09:23:52 -0700 (MST) From: Dana C Brewer [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] snip I am trying to gather some of this stuff for the people on the land in Arizona..if you have any ideas please let me know. raw wool fleece, raw animal skins and hides Navaho language tapes, walkman and batteries, Coast and Geodetic survey maps for between these areas: Blue Canion(Moeukopi Wash) and White Ruin Canion It would be nice to have the maps of the entire area. -This comes at the request from a friend who is working for Roberta Blackgoat. Thank you again, If there is anything I should know please inform me. Please keep your self well (I love ginger for that!) Take Good Care, Dana Brewer 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 In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
NATIVE_NEWS: IS THE UNITED NATIONS FACILITATING THE EXTINCTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE?
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 14:33:52 -0500 From: Kahn-Tineta Horn [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.02 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Action Canada Network [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: IS THE UNITED NATIONS FACILITATING THE EXTINCTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE? CASNP. Kahnawake M.T. 11 Dec 98. The following speech was presented by Kahn-Tineta Horn, President of the Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with the Native Peoples to the City of Toronto Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1998. It went over well with some and not with others. "In the last few years I have been to the United Nations in New York City and I wasn't impressed. THIS IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT IS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT OUR FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS. THIS IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT SAYS IN ARTICLE 1 OF ITS CHARTER THAT IT IS "BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL RIGHTS AND SELF DETERMINATION OF PEOPLES" THIS IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT CLAIMS TO PROMOTE EQUALITY "WITHOUT DISTINCTION AS TO RACE, LANGUAGE, SEX OR RELIGION" YET once again UN officials representing the dominant states lined up their people to tell us what to do. They controlled the meeting, set the agenda and decided how many questions were asked. And none of our questions were answered. THERE ARE COMPLICATED EXCUSES FOR THIS. Today, I can only tell you what I know. So this is what I have to say. Did you know that Canada WAS THE FIRST COUNTRY TO SHUT Indigenous Peoples OUT of international ORGANIZATIONS? It was Canada that placed Indigenous societies throughout the world on the path to genocide and extinction. And this happened recently in 1923 1924 IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THING CANADA DID WHEN IT STARTED TO SEPARATE ITSELF FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND ACTED AS A STATE ON ITS OWN. SO I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT HOW Canada's strategy continues to perpetuate this atrocities on Indigenous societies worldwide. THERE ARE A LOT OF GAPS IN THE WAY CANADA TELLS HISTORY. I BET MOST OF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY NEVER AGREED TO BE PART OF CANADA! Did you know that the Iroquois Confederacy of Six Nations, near Brantford Ontario, sent a representative, Deskahe, to Geneva in 1923 to apply for membership in the League of Nations? I AM A CITIZEN OF THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY. I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT WE STARTED OFF AS ALLIES OF BRITAIN AND WE NEVER AGREED TO GIVE UP OUR INDEPENDENT STATUS. We had a democratic government before you had even heard of "responsible government". When Europeans were having a hard time making it in North America, we were their allies and helped them. When her colonies revolted in the American War of Independence we moved north and to this day we remain independent British allies. Things started to go wrong for us when Britain started giving local self-government on our land to European settlers. Canadians started to ignore us. We did the best we could. They mismanaged our trust funds allotted our lands without our consent. In the end Canadians started treating us like wards of their Crown and as British subjects. They wanted to assimilate us they started forcing their laws on us. How would you feel if the United States started to make laws about stray dogs or collecting taxes in Canada? That's what you did to us! In 1920 we petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada to decide on the legality of the Indian Act and on the interference by the Department of Indian Affairs in our government. We asked for a constitutional reference, like Canada did on Quebec. But in 1920 Canada refused to let the court hear our case on the advice of Duncan Campbell Scott in the Department of Indian Affairs. Just think about that. We were complaining about Scotts interpretation of the law Canada let him decide if our complaint should be heard! So we petitioned the Governor Genera. Our petition got sent back to Duncan Campbell Scott. Then we petitioned the King in England our petition got sent to the Governor General in Canada. Guess who he sent it to? You guessed it! Duncan Campbell Scott! We still wanted our issues to be looked at by an impartial third party. So we chose Chief Deskaheh, the Speaker of our Council, to get international help. Then Canada started to make plans to send the RCMP to invade our territory! That was the last straw! Deskaheh sent a petition to the Queen of the Netherlands because the Netherlands had been our allies back in the days when New York was known as New Amsterdam. The Netherlands submitted our petition to the League of Nations. But Canada claimed that we were not independent. They got Great Britain to bury our case by putting pressure on the Netherlands. So the League did not considered our case. You had to be a state to be a member of the League of Nations and Canada thought that they could just tell everyone we were not a state and that would be the end of it. Then Deskaheh
NATIVE_NEWS: Fwd: Judge Rules Indian Slots Illegal
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 13:21:19 EST Subject: Fwd: Judge Rules Indian Slots Illegal From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Judge Rules Indian Slots Illegal Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 07:11:30 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Judge Rules Indian Slots Illegal .c The Associated Press By MARK JEWELL SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A judge has cleared the way for federal marshals to seize 1,800 slot machines from two American Indian reservations, saying the devices are illegal. The Spokane Tribe plans to appeal U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, tribal vice chairman John Kieffer said. The tribe also will seek an emergency stay from the appeals court to allow continued operation of the slots until the appeal is resolved. The judge on Thursday found the slot machines are illegal under the Johnson Act, a 1950s anti-organized crime law that bans slot machines on Indian reservations. Lawyers for the Spokanes and the Confederated Colville Tribes had filed a motion seeking to order federal prosecutors to sue Washington state rather than attempt to seize the slot machines. The motion was denied. The ruling allows federal marshals to seize slots from the Spokane and Colville reservations before the outcome of any appeal, assistant U.S. attorney Jim Shively said. ``We quite frankly wouldn't want to seize the machines if the tribes agree simply to turn them off pending the ruling (on the appeal),'' he said. As many as 600 people may be laid off at the Spokane tribe's four casinos, which have about 1,300 slots machines, Kieffer said. ``Without the slots, we'll definitely have to close our doors,'' he said. Last summer, U.S. attorney's offices here and in Seattle began civil forfeiture actions to seize more than 2,000 gambling machines operated by the Spokanes, the Colvilles and the Shoalwater Bay tribe in western Washington. In September, a federal judge in Seattle ordered the 108 Shoalwater machines seized. They were removed within a few days, but an appeal is pending. Federal law provides an exemption from the Johnson Act if states either enter into compacts with tribes to allow Nevada-style gaming, such as slot machines, or pass laws to allow tribes to operate such devices. Washington state contends slot machines are illegal under state law and cannot be negotiated into a compact. Slots are allowed in Indian casinos in 23 states, the National Indian Gaming Commission said. AP-NY-12-11-98 0711EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment ...http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ `"``"``"` `"``"``"`
