Re: Wotanging Ikche--nanews04.008(part A)

Subject: Re: Wotanging Ikche--nanews04.008(part A)

>
> --------- "RE: Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding" ---------
>
> Subject: ARTICLE ABOUT KICKAPU
>
> O'Siyo Gary!
>
> The following was forwarded to me by a friend who is on the Latino-net,
> and I think it should be shared. I personally have observed the self-
> loathing that many of our sisters have about their skin color, or their
> hair and eye color.
>
> Walking together,
> John King
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> LATINO SPECTRUM To: Multiple recipients of list MCLR-L
> <MCLR-L@msu.edu>
>
> Chronicle Features, San Francisco RELEASE DATE: On or After
> February 9, 1996 LATINO SPECTRUM by Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia
> Gonzales Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding
> Our Uncle Joe remembers how Mama Mencha dried tobacco along a
> river, raising her hands to pray to grandfather sun.
> Mama Mencha, our great-great grandmother, was Kikapu Indian. U.S.
> history books say the Kikapua (as they are known in their own
> language) were first sighted by the "white man" in the Great Lakes
> region.
> Mama Mencha crossed south at "the pass of the eagle" (now Eagle
> Pass), giving us roots in two countries. She settled in
> Nacimiento, Mexico, when our people were pushed into Mexico from
> the United States while fleeing Indian wars. Our uncle, or "Tio
> Chema," as we call him, remembers her stories about seeing Santa
> Anna ride by on his horse. The Kikapu (as they are known in
> Mexico) were given land by the Mexican government and unrestricted
> passage between the two countries.
> Mama Mencha died at age 115 in 1937. She's buried without a marker
> in a private family cemetery in Waco, Texas.
> Tio Chema, who looks like the Indian head on an old nickel and
> likes to go to the powwows in Oklahoma, is a keeper of family
> stories. We are also Comanche from one of our mother's side of the
> family, but those stories have been lost. A people without stories
> is a people without memory or history. Sometimes all that remains
> of a people's history are names on birth certificates, sepia
> photographs and stone inscriptions that are later misinterpreted by
> archaeologists.
> Often we have wondered, when do Indians cease being Indians--when
> do they lose their memory, their tongue?
> In the '40s, as the animals they had hunted for sustenance were
> killed off in Mexico, the Kikapua (which loosely translates as "the
> people who keep moving") were forced to follow the migrant stream
> into the United States. They camped under a bridge in Eagle Pass,
> Texas, and became known as "the bridge people."
> Our relatives, however, disliked the nickname. "We are not bridge
> people. We are not cardboard people," they'd say, referring to the
> cardboard homes that some migrants lived in.
> But the moniker has new meaning for us nowadays, as we find
> ourselves bridging nations at indigenous summits. At conferences,
> we are often asked to translate for Spanish-speaking southern
> indigenous nations and English-speaking North American Indians.
> As writers, we are also translators of cultures, within the Latino
> communities, between native people and mestizos, and between Latino
> communities and our mainstream readers. At other times, we bring
> to our readers knowledge from ethnic scholars that might otherwise
> remain locked in ivory towers. We often say we are "bridge people"
> who help to bridge wide cultural gulfs of misunderstanding.
> We remember being on a bus in Mexico City when a fair-haired mother
> screamed at her child, who was slow to board, "Don't be an Indian."
> We recall how an instructor friend of ours participating in the
> mother-daughter program in El Paso, Texas, told the girls they were
> all beautiful. When one girl asked, "Even if you look like an
> Indian, Miss?" the instructor replied, "Especially if you look like
> an Indian."
> It reminds us of our own childhoods, of thinking we were ugly
> because we were dark and Indian, washing our skin furiously, hoping
> we would wash our color away. A friend of ours remembers going to
> bed at night and praying she would wake up blond. Another friend
> says that's why some Latinas dress with garish clothes, makeup and
> baubles--to cover up the Indian.
> We see Chicanos and Latinos as people from four directions because
> most of us are a mixture of Indian, European, African and Asian.
> This mixture, however historically has generally been viewed by
> both Spaniards and indigenous people as contaminated blood.
> During the debate over the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992, left
> out of the discussion were the vast heirs--or rather--the product
> of the conquest of the Americas, the mestizos. We concluded then
> that the Americas will heal its racial wounds when mestizos not
> only stopped hating Indians, but stopped hating themselves. Part
> of the healing requires that we all start to view mestizos as one
> group, with multiple identities, cultures and histories, albeit
> begotten of war and conquest.
> Perhaps a better term for mestizos is bridge people who, because of
> their unique experience of coming to terms with the conflict that
> created their culture, can be bridges over the walls of prejudice.
> On the tree of humanity, there are many leaves and flowers, but to
> paraphrase Cuban patriot Jose Marti, our trunk will always be
> indigenous.
>
> (Copyright Chronicle Features, 1996)
> + Latino Spectrum is a nationally syndicated column, distributed by
> Chronicle Features. Rodriguez/Gonzales can be reached at (915)
> 593-2387, P.O. Box 370394, El Paso, Texas 79937 or at
> XXXROBERTO@AOL.COM or PATRISIAX@AOL.COM
> + Readers are encouraged to call or write their local editors and
> encourage them to carry the Latino Spectrum column.
>
> --------- "RE: Reverse Assimilation" ---------
>
> From: cherokee@wolfenet.com
> Subj: Assimilation
>
>
> Gary...can you put the words up?
>
> Reverse Assimilation
> O'siyo....
> I keep hearing the words...the arguments...the anger...about a subject
> which continues to plague First Nations...and so, tonight, in the shadow of
> the Smokey Spirit Mountains...I speak my heart...and hope that you might
> learn of this...and perhaps...move on to speak of it to others...
> Several Decades ago...when the failure to exterminate we of First
> Nations failed...the second plan..or as one of my young students might put
> it..Plan "B" was formulated....and it was called...Assimilation...the idea
> to blend us into the Dominant culture...thus,
> eliminating...or...exterminating us by a legal means...
> I have always fought Assimilation...and fought strongly for First
> Nations Sovereignty....but have never spoken before of my reasons. Perhaps
> tonight it it time then to speak my heart to you.
> First...Know that there are many in this circle...who are of different
> beliefs...different colors...different nations...countries...but all...all
> have the same dream...to live together in peace upon a Earth which will
> support us only if we love her...and heal her...and put our own selfish
> self interests behind. All of us in this circle...care of each
> other...most not having a idea of what the others "look" like...nor what
> nationality...and it merely is not important to us...Hold onto that thought
> as I try and struggle to speak to you....
> I was born Indian.....when it was not popular to be an Indian...Before
> Dances With Wolves moved our First Nations into the public heart...I
> remember walking down a street and people moving over to the other sidewalk
> when I passed...at the age of 5....I remember when we were hungry....of a
> time when we had nothing...nothing..but the love of each other to sustain
> us...and we would laugh...oh, how we would laugh...for we had the freedom
> unknown to so many...the gift of seeing the beauty in life...and though
> poor...I remember swimming in our creek on our land with my
> cousins..laughing and fearlessly accepting their dare to fall from the rope
> we had hung on the tree there. Love...remember this word...for it is all
> that has held we of First Nations together for so very long...so very long.
> We have always used the phrase..Mother Earth...long before it was a
> popular term...we have LIVED that term. We have believed we are the
> caretaker of Mother..and that all fruitful things are born from her...as
> from a real woman...she is sacred...the lifegiver....
> In this belief...we never believed any one could own her. We rejected
> the concept of Individual ownership...and the one common theme among First
> Nations is Communal sharing of the land...and in that...the individual
> responsibility of caring for it for the good of the whole Nations....
> We take that very seriously.....
> Jerry Mander put it very well I think....about the differences....and
> why we can never be assimilated....
> ECONOMICS
> Technological Peoples Native Peoples
> Concept of private property a No private ownership of resources
> basic value, includes resources, such as land, water, minerals or
> land, ability to buy and sell and plant life. NO concept of
> inheritance. State Ownership. selling land. No inheritance.
> Corporate Ownership predominates.
>
> Goods produced for sale...not for Goods produced for use value
> personal use.
>
> Currency System..abstract value Barter system..concrete value
>
> Competition..production for Cooperative, collective
> private gain. Reward according to production.
> task/wages.
>
> Nature viewed as "resource" Nature viewed as "being";
> humans seen as part of nature.
>
> POLITICS
> Hierarchical political forums Mostly Non hierarchical, "chiefs"
> have no coercive power.
>
> Decisions generally made by Decisions usually based on
> executive power, majority rule, consensus process involving
> or dictatorship. the whole tribe.
>
> Laws are codified, written. Laws transmitted orally. No
> Adversarial process. adversarial process. Laws
> Anthropocentrism forms basis of interpreted for individual
> law. Criminal cases judged by cases. "Natural Law' used as
> strangers. basis. Criminal cases settled
> by peers KNOWN to "criminal".
>
> Concept of "State" Identity as "Nation"
>
> SOCIOCULTURAL and DEMOGRAPHIC
> Large scale societies...most have Small scale societies..all
> high population density people acquainted; low
> population density
>
> Lineage mostly patrilineal Lineage mostly Matrilineal,
> Family property rights run
> through the female.
>
> Nuclear two or one parent Extended Families, generations
> families; also "singles" Sometimes many families live
> together.
>
> Revere the Young things Revere the Old things
>
> History written in books, History transmitted in oral
> portrayed in TV documdramas traditions, carried through
> memory.
>
> RELATION to ENVIRONMENT
> Humans viewed as superior life Entire world viewed as alive:
> form; Earth Viewed as "dead" plants, animals, people, rocks.
> Humans NOT superior, but equal
> part of web of life. Reciprocal
> relationship with non human life.
>
> ARCHITECTURE
> Space designed for separation and Space designed for communal
> privacy activity.
>
> Hand edged forms; earth covered Soft forms; earth not paved
> with concrete
>
> Construction designed to survive Construction designed to
> individual human life. eventually dissolve back into
> the land; materials biodegradable
> in one lifetime.
>
> RELIGION and PHILOSOPHY
> Separation of spirituality from rest Spirituality integrated with all
> of life in most Western Cultures; aspects of daily life.
> church and state separated; materialism
> is dominant philosophy in Western
> Countries.
>
> Either monotheistic concept of Polytheistic concepts based on
> single, male god, or atheistic nature, male and female forces,
> animalism.
>
> Futuristic/linear concept of Integration of past and present.
> time; de-emphasis of past.
>
> The dead are regarded as gone. The dead are regarded as present.
>
> Individuals gain most information Individuals gain information
> from media, schools, authority from personal experiences.
> figures outside their immediate
> community or experience
>
> Time measures by machines; Time measured according to
> schedules dictate when to do observance of nature; time to do
> things. something is when time is right.
>
> Saving and acquiring Sharing and giving.
>
> Humans viewed as above nature Humans within nature
>
> So...you see...the struggle we have to survive within the technological
> dominant society....where land is viewed as "dead"...we see is as bursting
> with life....To not be as one with the land is incomprehensible to the
> People. We are as one with the land....
> Now..they introduce bills to take back our lands from us...which to us
> is to take away our very lives...our hearts...And, I say to you this
> thing...we shall never give them up...never. You might as well ask for me
> to stab my own heart as to ask me to give up an inch of the ground my
> Grandmother is buried in. I will NEVER...never....do this. Nor..will any
> traditional member of First Nations.
> Many years ago...we used to dance...sing...as a innocent people..as
> children will do. We never believed...that those who came to us in
> Peace..who gave us their words on the written paper would NEVER keep their
> promises. We did not know the concept of lying. It was unheard of among
> our People. I remember my Grandmother saying to me.."A Man's word is his
> Sacred Oath..his Promise forever..." We were stunned...as they began to
> annihilate us....massacre us in our sleeps....without weapons to protect
> ourselves. I still...to this day...cannot accept this...I struggle with
> it...I dream of it..I think of it so many times...and I have never, never
> understood it...none of it.
> We, of First Nations believe...three things...That all land, water and
> forest belongs to all....private ownership is unthinkable. All tribal
> decisions are made by the consensus of all members of the tribe and we view
> our leaders as more like teachers...than politicians...
> No one is "Higher" than another....all people are to be treated as
> alike..the same...the same laws....and when one is hungry...you feed
> them...when one is cold...you shelter them...when one is sick..you heal
> them. THAT is what we believe.
> And so....now...they introduce legal ways to exterminate us....to take
> back our lands....our hearts....to kill us again...and I say to you...I
> shall never give up another inch...never...For we of First Nations are a
> poor people...but have Honor...and they will have to kill each one of us
> before we shall ever submit to the death of our ways.
> I wonder then...if we have been thinking backwards in this country of
> ours...if perhaps the Dominant Technological Country should assimilate
> itself into our ways...for I am spoken to so often...so often...by many who
> come and say I want to find my home...I want to go home....I do not find
> happiness here...and I open my arms to them and say...come home..come home
> to us...Heal with us...eat with us...dance with us...come home.
> I say to you....Peace of heart cannot be bought with a Visa Card...and
> my Brothers the Cree have warned you...."Only when the last tree has
> died...and the last river has been poisoned...and the last fish has been
> caught...will we realize...we cannot eat money."
> Someone recently told me..."Brooke, your people cannot win. They simply
> cannot win. You'll probably do something stupid like go out and get
> yourself shot when the holdout comes. Its stupid to do that. What would
> you prove?"
> I thought of that...saw past their words..into their heart and knew they
> loved me and feared for me...and in that I answered...these words...
> "Of course we will never "win" a battle of technology...and of course
> the tanks...the bullets will cut us down as they did at Wounded Knee...of
> course we know this thing. But, my Cheyenne Brother serve notice to
> reclaim their lands of Ft. Reno in Oklahoma...My Shawnee Brothers serve
> notice they shall not give up another foot of their sacred lands...My
> brothers the Sioux will not SELL the Black Hills...my Navaho Brothers will
> not give up their lands...and on..and on...Yes, they will take them
> back..of course they shall...but only after our blood has nourished the
> land in a last attempt to save it to grow on for our children...and their
> children...and shed it gladly we shall....
> For there is a thing that has not been taught in this generation...that
> has been forgotten by many...and that thing is Honor...My Sioux Brothers
> yell out.."IT is a good day to die." Yes...it is.
> When a Nation of People is lied to...when promises are not kept...then
> Honor is destroyed....destroyed....and if a country cannot live in Honor
> then what good is it?
> Our National Parks are now being sold off to foreign interests...where
> are the People to stop this dishonor? Our homes are being taken from
> us...where are the voices in protest? First Nations protests...alone if
> need be...but they shall stand and plant their staffs deeply and refuse to
> move...and I say to you this thing...I am a mere woman...I am fearful of
> the tanks...I do not wish to see the bullets sent to my heart...but I know
> Honor...and I will stand with my Brothers and Sisters, holding them tightly
> to me as we fall...and if the People of this country do not realize...that
> there is little time left to save our Mother..then my heart weeps for their
> ignorance.
> We have sat...for 500 years...in patient hearts...waiting for honor to
> be restored...for promises to be kept...and we still wait....Perhaps we
> should ask the Dominant Culture to come "Assimilate" with our Nations...to
> walk in Honor...to share our lands...in honor...and lifegiving...Maybe no
> one has simply thought of this thing.
> Gentle winds to your life journey tonight...Dance on...in
> HONOR...dance on....a'ho
>
> --------- "RE: Necessary Illusion" ---------
>
> Date: Sat, 10 Feb 1996 22:16:50 -0700
> From: "Leo T. Chavez, Jr." <cchavez@ucsub.Colorado.EDU>
> Subj: The Necessary Illusion
>
> Newsgroups: soc.culture.native
>
> The following script is about race not about the political gender issue.
>
> A Native American woman has uncovered the parts of the necessary illusion.
> Today's Planned Parenthood was created by racist intentions. Its founder,
> Margaret Sanger, said, "Stop bringing to birth children who's inheritance
> cannot be one of health or intelligence due to the "colored" peril."
> I have always wondered why there were never any effective programs that
> were implemented to improve ethnic minorities' economic conditions. See,
> this is the American mentality of "relieve the symptoms and don't cure the
> problem". Dr. A.C. Ross has mention similar issue, i.e.: federal reserve
> system and the welfare programs, that what it comes down to is same
> substance different method. Be leery, but ask how can I be helped so I
> can have a decent standard of living. This is not an argument about
> Pro-Choice and Pro-Life, but because that is the the necessary illusion.
> Remember when those who are talking about taxes, welfare, military, crime,
> abortion, school prayers and the environment; what they are really talking
> about is race. You kill a culture, you kill a people. Learn the lesson from
> Iktomi, we need to trick the trickster(s). MITAKUYE OYASIN...
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Leo T. Chavez, Jr.
>
> "Why do people not want to shake the hands of those who cook their meals?"
> -Dr. Phil Deloria
>
> "I am haunted by waters." -Norman Maclean
>
> "Why so much land?" -Geronimo
>
> --------- "RE: Crow Nation Alert" ---------
>
> Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 20:26:30 GMT
> From: andrea@scicom.alphacdc.com (Andrea Lord)
> Subj: CROW NATION - ALERT
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native,alt.activism
>
> The following bulletin is being posted at the request of:
> Arlo Dawes, Executive Assistant, Crow National Branch Office,
> INDIAN NATIONS ALERT !
> ABORIGINAL HUNTING RIGHTS THREATENED ! !
>
> On December 1995, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for the
> United States, Denver, Colorado, issued a decision against the Crow
> Tribe of the Crow Nation on a hunting case, which tested the
> aboriginal hunting rights of the Crow Tribe guaranteed in the Fort
> Laramie Treaty of 1868. The case is Crow Tribe of Indians and Thomas L.
> Ten Bear vs. Chuck Regis, a/k/a the Thomas Ten Bear Case. The 10th
> Circuit Court based its decision on a controversial U.S. Supreme Court
> decision in Ward vs. Race Horse, 1896.
> Thomas L. Ten Bear, a Crow tribal member, was cited by Chuck
> Regis, a game warden employed by the State of Wyoming Fish and Game
> Department, for killing an elk on federal lands within the Big Horn
> National Forest without a State of Wyoming hunting license. As part
> of his unsuccessful defense, Ten Bear argued that he had an unrestricted
> aboriginal right to hunt in the Big Horn National Forest (a federal
> enclave), as "unoccupied lands of the United States" under Article 4
> of the Treaty with the Crows, 1868.
> Arlo Dawes, Executive Assistant to Clara Nomee, Chairperson,
> Crow Nation, stated that the Ward vs. Race Horse decision of 1896
> has been repudiated and has been criticized by courts over the years.
> "The decision by the 10th Circuit Court is like reaffirming the Dred
> Scott vs. Sandford Case, which involved the Black American," stated
> Dawes. The Crow Tribe is filing an appeal in the United States Supreme
> Court in March.
> Because of the different mitigating factors between the Ten
> Bear and the Ward vs. Race Horse decisions, Crow Tribal leaders and
> tribal attorneys stated that the merits itself would likely warrant
> the Supreme Court to hear the case.
> In an unprecedented feat in the history of the Northern Great
> Plains, the Crow Indians and the Sioux Indians, once deadly enemies,
> are in discussions to put animosities aside to ally with one another
> to stand up for a common cause. A medicine peace pipe ceremony between
> the tribes is tentatively planned at the Crow Nation on June 25, 1996.
> Indian leaders throughout the United States are urged to write
> to President Bill Clinton, Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, and
> Janet Reno, Attorney General, Department of Justice to:
> 1. urge the United States to intervene on behalf of the
> Crow Tribe, and
> 2. urge President Clinton, Secretary Bruce Babbitt and
> Attorney General Janet Reno to make recommendations
> to the United States Supreme Court to hear the
> Ten Bear Case.
> President Bill Clinton
> 1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
> Washington, DC 20500
> email: clinton@whitehouse.gov or president@whitehouse.gov
>
> Attorney General Janet Reno
> Dept. of Justice,
> 10th & Constitution NW,
> Washington DC 20530
>
> Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt
> 1849 C Street, N.W.
> Main Interior Bldg., Rm. 6151
> Washington, D.C. 20240
>
> THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!!THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!!THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!!
>
> For Further Information contact:
> Arlo Dawes,
> Executive Assistant,
> Crow National Branch Office,
> 2024 3rd Avenue North,
> Billings, MT, 59101
>
> Phone: 406-248-5820
> Fax: 406-248-3341
>
> --------- "RE: Why Onesided" ---------
>
> Date: 15 Feb 96 08:34:00
> From: Frosty.Deere@igloo.magicnet.com (Frosty Deere)
> Subj: Why is it things are onesided ?
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native
>
> Ask any native person living any place in the world and you will hear
> the same thing over and over. " Why are whitemans' laws always right and we
> are always wrong ?"
> Every Treaty ever written has been broken or for some unknown reason
> the native people mis-understand what they signed.
> Enter a courtroom and you walk away feeling that you are trying to
> steal your own lands or some right.
> Enter the courtroom and learn that one man can remove the rights of a
> whole nation.
> Enter a courtroom and learn that you have lost the right to fish,
> hunt and live as a native person on what you think is your land.
> What has all to do with anything ?
> Well it has to do with the separation of Quebec from Canada.
> At the present time both governments as talking out of the side of
> there mouths and many of the things seem to be slipping out like butter on a
> hot knife.
> First it was Ron Irwin, pointing out that Canada had a right to
> protect the natives if they wanted to remain joined to Canada. He raised
> the question, would Quebec use the police if they said "No" to separation.
> Quebec shot back with they would send in the police.
> All this leads us to one fact, they are once again screwing with the
> lives of native people for there own gain. So as there war of words are
> slung back and forth we sit in the middle and have to live with there crap.
> The only thing is we are not sitting on our butts watching this.
> So what is new ?
> Well now ex-premier Bourassa, comes out of the woodwork and makes the
> claim that the Cree gave up there rights to the land 20 years ago. I would
> like to see where its written that they gave up the land to Quebec ? I have
> the whole document and can not find it anyplace and would like some to point
> it out to me.
> Anyway, since then Jerry Peltier is very happy that Ron Irwin, has
> stated that he will support natives.
> Next we have Bernard Landry you claims that Chretien, has lost
> control and that Irwin is acting like a drunken sailor.
> This is followed by Bouchard that Irwin is an imbecile and a perfect
> idiot.
> Then now we have Brassard saying Irwin is irresponsible and ignorant.
> That he is an arsonist who is fighting fires every-where is dangerous and he
> is an ignoramus who is uttering nonsense.
> Irwin predicted bloodshed if force is used on natives from leaving
> Quebec.
> But the bottom line is that no Native Nation is Quebecois.
>
> ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378)
>
> --------- "RE: Prayers" ---------
>
> Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 11:57:19 -0800 (PST)
> From: nisqlibr@orcalink.com (Nisqually Library)
> Subj: Prayers
>
> Mailing List: NativeWeb <nativeweb@thecity.sfsu.edu>
>
> With goodness to all concerns many of the people have suffered great losses
> because of the floods surrounding the Mt. Rainier. the cleansing of the earth
> has begun the earthquake I believe will soon follow Through the prayers of
> the power of the good mind we as Indian people must never forget who we are
> pray for our relatives who reach high to the creator the sacred cedar tree
> pray the loggers leave them alone many songs are still inside of them many
> were used to bury our dead. The murders of the cedars must stop, vision
> quest sites must be preserved all living thing have spirits all life must be
> protected or we will all suffer.... our fish along the Nisqually river lay
> dead along ditches the eagle have no fish to eat...Development conquer and
> destroy is all I have seen our earth mother is crying to her people for we
> are the original caretakers of the turtle island....remember your songs and
> ceremonies...use your medicines in a good way for all the Native people and
> protection of our earth..
>
> Ska-Da-Wa
> I can be reached at nisqlibr@orcalink.com
>
> --------- "RE: Grave Desecration In Tennessee" ---------
>
> Date: 12 Feb 1996 21:46:59 -0500
> From: talleagle@aol.com (Tall Eagle)
> Subj: Grave Desecration In TENNESSEE
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native
>
> Please, my people and friends of my people, help us out. It will only
> take a fax.
> We have an issue here in Middle Tennessee that is disturbing and will
> affect all indigenous peoples in the near future. The State of Tennessee,
> the City of Nashville, and a Private Corporation (The Houston Oilers) are
> making plans to build a football stadium on what is known to be Native
> American burial sites.
> The second part of the controversy, and possibly more damaging, is the
> proposed relocation of all existing businesses in that area to a site
> known as Cockrell Bend, a well known, and already proven Mississippian
> burial site. IF you wish to assist us in our endeavors to stop this
> transgression against our people, please either write or fax to Mayor Phil
> Bredeson, mayor of Nashville.. address follows:
>
> Mayor Phil Bredeson
> 107 Metropolitan Courthouse
> Nashville, Tennessee 37201
>
> Phone 615-862-8000
> FAX 615-862-6040
> Please flood his mailbox and run his fax out of paper.. This is only the
> beginning. We will be begging for more help in the future... get ready.
> Thank you very much, Tall Eagle
>
> --------- "RE: ICWA Appeal to Supreme Court" ---------
>
> Date: 15 Feb 1996 05:53:03 GMT
> From: icwalaw@maroon.tc.umn.edu
> Subj: ICWA appeal to US Sup Ct
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native
>
> On Monday, Feb. 12, the ICWA Law Center filed an appeal in the United
> States Supreme Court of a decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court
> upholding the adoption of a Cheyenne River Sioux baby into a white home
> because the child was not being removed from an "existing Indian family."
> The lower LA appeals court ruled that since (1) the mother (a full blood)
> had only gone to two pow wows in the last year, (2) the baby had never
> lived in an Indian home (she was placed for adoption in a white home at
> birth), and (3) the mother moved off the reservation at the age of seven,
> the child would not be returned to an "existing Indian family" if returned
> to the mother. The appeals court ruled that the mother had not
> demonstrated "substantive tribal contacts." Even the trial court rejected
> the stupid existing indian family doctrine, yet the appeals court twisted
> the facts to fit the doctrine (as idiotic) as it is, which only goes to
> show how slippery the doctrine is.
> To be safe, we tell our clients to eat lots of fry bread and go to at
> least three pow wows a year if they want the ICWA to apply to their kids.
> Be a "real" Indian in the opinion of the learned state court judges.
> Now this mother's only hope is that the US Supreme Court will accept
> review of the case and reverse the appeals court decision. At least six
> states have adopted the "existing Indian family "doctrine, and four have
> rejected it, and a few others have opinions going both ways. We are asking
> the Supreme Court to resolve this conflict once and for all.
>
> We'll keep you all posted.
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Mark Fiddler, Esq.
> Executive Director
> Indian Child Welfare Law Center
> 1433 East Franklin Avenue 18A
> Minneapolis, Minn. 55404
> 612-879-9165 (voice)
> 612-879-0323 (fax)
> icwalaw@maroon.tc.umn.edu
>
> --------- "RE: Muzzle Request" ---------
>
> Date: Wed Feb 14, 1996 at 18:08 EST
> From: Brave Star (a.horovitch@genie.com)
> Subj: Muzzle Request
>
> Genie email
>
> Minister of Indian affairs for Canada made another provocative statement on
> exiting a cabinet meeting today. Ron Irwin said that Indians lands are not
> part of Quebec Crown Land. This follows a bitter comment by Mr. Bouchard
> (Premier of Quebec)yesterday asking the Prime Minister to "muzzle" the
> minister of Indian Affairs . The muzzle request came after a comment that an
> attempt to keep natives part of a separate Quebec could lead to violence.
> The possibility of violence in Quebec is certainly being brought out into the
> open more today. The popular CBC radio noon call in show discussed the
> question of whether the possibility of violence in quebec should be discussed.
> Very mixed response from the audience. Spokesperson for the Parti Quebecois
> said Quebec is very law abiding ( forgot OKA 1990,. forgot the mail box
> bombings and the killing of a government minister in the fight for separatism
> in the 1970's). It is dangerous he said, to discuss such things. It is
> inconceivable that a part of Quebec could be broken off from Quebec as a
> whole. (He didn't see that many of us feel the same about Canada).
> Brave Star
>
> --------- "RE: Native Leaders on Quebec" ---------
>
> Date: Sun Feb 18, 1996 at 20:35 EST
> From: Brave Star (a.horovitch@genie.com)
> Subj: Native Leaders on Quebec
>
> Genie email
>
> Quebec Native Leaders repeated recently their stand of rejection on the
> issue of territorial integrity of a separate Quebec. Mohawk Chief Billy
> Two Rivers says that " Quebec can't do what they want to do without our
> consent.". The statement was given in response to David Cliche who said
> that Quebec's territorial integrity will be recognized by Canada, the US
> and some South american countries. Billy Two rivers said" The next step is
> to distribute this declaration to the widest possible audience both
> nationally and internationally. We want to make it clear and leave no
> doubt about our position on Quebec territorial integrity. We own this land
> and we will not be forcibly included in a separate Quebec". The
> declaration was passed by the Assembly of First Nations of quebec and
> Labrador.
> In part it reads:
> "We the Chiefs and representatives of the first Nations of Quebec and
> Labrador declare: For thousands of years we have governed ourselves and our
> lands and resources as distinct people's and Nations....
> The integrity of our societies, lands, territories and waters is
> fundamental right that must not be adversely affected by unilateral
> changes to the constitutional and political landscape around us:...
> We assert our rights to be full and equal participants in any process
> that may effect us and will not accept any policies or practices by
> governments, be they federal or provincial, that purport to determine our
> status and rights in our absence;
> We respect the right of Quebec to hold a consultative referendum on
> their future but declare that our Peoples and territories will not be
> bound or otherwise affected by its outcome."
> Brave Star
>
> --------- "RE: Sacred Instructions" ---------
>
> Date: Sun, 4 Feb 1996 09:08:35 -0500
> From: Ondamitag@aol.com
> Subj: Sacred Instructions
>
> Chautauqua Newsletter<Ondamitag@aol.com>
>
> Sacred Instructions to Native People
> by Spiritual Elder William Commanda and Frank Decontie
>
> The Sacred Instructions given by the Creator to Native people at the time of
> Creation were as follows:
>
> A. To Take Care of Mother Earth and the other 3 colors of Man
> B. To Respect this Mother Earth and Creation
> C. To Honour All life, and to support that Honour.
> D. To be Grateful from the heart for All life. It is through life that there
> is Survival. Thank the Creator at All times for All life.
> E. To Love and express that love.
> F. To be Humble. Humility is the gift of wisdom and understanding
> G. Kindness. To be Kind with one-self and with others.
> H. Sharing. The Sharing of feelings and personal concerns and commitments.
> I. Honesty. To be Honest with one-self and with others.
> To be Responsible for these Sacred Instructions and to be a living
> demonstration of these Instructions to other Nations.
>
> --------- "RE: Review: The Rez" ---------
>
> Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 00:57:00 +0000
> From: kristine donahue <n9510986@gonzo.cc.wwu.edu>
> Subj: Review: The Rez
>
> Mailing List: UpTowne Online Services <uptowne@yak.nstn.ns.ca>
>
> THE REZ SERIES SYNOPSIS:
> THE REZ is based on characters first introduced to international
> audiences by W.P. Kinsella's acclaimed collection of short stories
> Dance Me Outside. They became further entrenched in our hearts by
> Bruce McDonald's witty, award-winning theatrical feature of the same
> name. THE REZ continues our romp though the lives of Silas, Frank and
> Sadie, three smart and lippy First Nations teenagers.
> THE REZ is neither a sitcom, although offbeat and funny, nor a
> political tract, although often provoking. The half-hour prime time
> series is a swift, sweet sequence of tales the 19-year-old Silas Crow
> tells of his life, his friends, his family, and the world of the
> Kidiabanesee Reserve.
>
> THE EPISODES:
> #1 DRESSED LIKE A FISH
> When Frank and Silas' beloved employer Don Nanibush drops dead from a
> heart attack, the boys are grief stricken and out of a job at the
> marina. At Don's wake, while contemplating their inevitable move to
> the dread city, they are astounded when his long-forgotten wife
> Eleanor arrives from somewhere deep in the wilds of Las Vegas. She is
> taking over, and she's going to run the place on her own, thank you
> very much. "This gal's used to being on her own hook."
> To lift their flagging spirits the boys begin to discuss their own
> funerals. Frank quickly realizes that his is going to be so good he
> doesn't want to miss it. So while the pre-emptory Eleanor manages to
> seriously annoy all the regulars at the marina, the boys throw
> themselves full swing into planning a funeral for Frank.
> #2 GOLF AND POLITICS
> While Sadie is researching the history of the reserve she discovers an
> old and unresolved conflict. It seems the true boundary of their land
> extends another three acres, straight through Eleanor's property,
> bisecting the bar/marina where the boys work. Sadie promptly organizes
> a boycott and insists that Silas and Frank quit their jobs.
> Oddly enough, the boys, in addition to loving their paycheques, feel a
> perverse sense of loyalty to Eleanor, even if she is a terminally
> abusive lush. And Sadie finds herself in direct conflict with Chief
> Tom who has organized a golf tournament and feels her boycott will
> dismantle this all-important public relations gesture. Unfortunately
> Sadie's in too deep to get out quickly. Silas sets it up and Sadie and
> Eleanor go toe to toe.
> #3 A LITTLE REVEALING
> Distant cousin Betty Reen is getting married, and Sadie, Lucy and Mad
> Etta have taken up the challenge of throwing her a stag party. Shocked
> to discover that a male stripper will cost them over $300 plus
> expenses, they decide that Silas will do it. They'll pay $50.
> Silas is somewhat stunned but game. After all, fifty bucks is fifty
> bucks. Frank on the other hand, is both hurt at not being asked, and
> rather unsupportive. "Don't pop a woody." On the night of the stag, a
> brawl has broken out between Betty Reen's sisters and the sisters of
> her intended. In fact, a couple of ladies have stashed bricks in their
> handbags. Silas spots this and after smiling briefly, faints. There's
> nothing to be done. Frank will have to go on. It's a matter of life
> and death.
> #4 THE LONGHOUSE
> When Lucy, Frank's usual squeeze abruptly announces that she's leaving
> the reserve and heading for the city with bad girl Marni Green, Frank
> decides he must stop her. Mad Etta tells the boys of an African tribe
> who lock their children in a "sort of a longhouse" whenever they
> appear to be making too hasty a decision. The boys then decide to set
> up an appropriate shack.
> After being incarcerated for all of two seconds, Lucy bursts though
> the door to tell Frank, "If I want to walk away from here, there's no
> way you're going to stop me." He knows. So she decides to stay in the
> "longhouse." They'll talk, it'll be good for him. This was not the plan.
> #5 THE LARK
> While on a trip into town, Silas' mentally challenged little brother
> Joseph manages to get a bit out of control, and unfortunately comes to
> the attention of some well-meaning social workers. After attempting to
> hide him at various places around the reserve, even leaving him
> briefly with Eleanor, Joseph is eventually discovered and shipped
> unceremoniously to a group home in Parry Sound.
> At the urging of Silas' mother, the boys and Sadie decide they'll do
> whatever it takes to get him back. In the words of Frank: "Balaclavas
> over our heads, guns if we have to, and we just drag him out of there."
> #6 DIRTY GIRLS, KILL!, KILL!
> When Sadie discovers that Frank has hired a team of women to wrestle
> in tapioca pudding as a fund-raiser for the reserve's boys and girls
> club she flips out. It seems the boys in holding on to their youth and
> callow ways are making her feel like "an old bag". She's no longer in
> on the joke, she's always the heavy. It hurts.
> When Silas' sister Illianna arrives with her husband McVey in tow, and
> their relationship promptly explodes for similar reasons, war breaks
> out. It's the boys against the women.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Internet: donr@uptowne.com (Donr)
> This message was processed by NetXpress from Merlin Systems Inc.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> --------- "RE: Poem: Dreaming Into the Ground" ---------
>
> Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 06:23:35 GMT
> From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart)
> Subj: dreaming into the ground
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native
>
> Coming onto the golden belly
> of this mother the earth
> where the winds talk
> and the stones cast no shadows
> i was dreaming
> my face in the ground
> belly to belly
> i wept into the earth
> a dreaming
> but when it was there
> it was a singing
> my mouth as wide
> as the heart of the earth
> into the ground I was dreaming
> all dressed in hair
>
> Tobacco Indian
> --
> Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg)
> American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100
> Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light
>
> --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" ---------
>
> Date: 96/02/17 17:28
> From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com)
> Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days
>
> Genie Electronic Mail
>
> A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 25-March 2
>
> PEPELUALI
> (February)
> (Kau-lua)
> 25
> Love is a gift that grows only with the giving.
> 26
> What is once found is never truly lost.
> 27
> I return to the earth to find the place of my beginnings.
> 28
> Within me lie the wellsprings of my own renewal.
> 29
> My heart sees what the eye cannot.
>
> MALAKI
> (March)
> (Nana)
> March was the season when the malolo, the flying fish, swarmed in the ocean.
> 1
> Everywhere I look, I see beauty.
> 2
> Listen if you would hear the music of the land.
>
>
> (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders
> Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue
> (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream)
>
> --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" ---------
>
> Date: Thu, 22 Feb 96 08:00 -0500
> From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com)
> Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted
> to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L
>
> Genie email
>
> Sender: mosa@netcom12.netcom.com
> Red Drum Woman Society Singers
> Hosts
> The Gathering of Heartbeats Drum Feast
> April 6 & 7, 1996 - Powderhorn Park
> Minneapolis MN
>
> Contact: Red Drum Woman Society Singers
> 612-227-3949 or 612-722-1746
> Fax: 612-721-8442
> Minneapolis - The Gathering of the Heartbeats Drum Feast will be
> held on April 6 & 7, 1996 at the Powderhorn Park Community Center
> from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. on
> Sunday. The gathering is hosted by the Red Drum Woman Society
> Singers, formerly known as Wikoskalaka - Young Ladies Drum Group,
> and co-sponsored by the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association.
> Female, male and mixed drum groups, and dancers are invited to
> participate in this weekend of traditional Native American
> drumming, dancing, and honoring ceremonies for drum groups and
> community leaders. The event is open to the public and a feast will
> be held Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. The feast is free and open to
> all.
> The Red Drum Woman Society Singers of Minneapolis, Minnesota have
> come together over the past three years to learn the sacred
> teachings of the Drum. These teaching involve what it means to be
> the seventh generation, the heartbeat of the indigenous peoples of
> this land. Their songs are a message to young people across the
> northern hemisphere.
> The women of the Red Drum Woman Society Singers are descended from
> many Native American nations. The group was formed in 1993 when
> several young women had dreams of being singers at a traditional
> Native American Drum. They are perpetuating the custom of Native
> American Dream Societies, believing that dreams hold the key and
> the power to reveal peoples' paths and purpose in this life.
> The Red Drum Woman Society Singers sing to keep the Native American
> culture alive, to instill a sense of pride and identity for young
> people. The group stands as a model for the children, creating a
> sense of identity and belonging, to follow the path of the Drum in
> place of drugs, alcohol or other forms of self-destruction. The
> purpose and intent of the Drum Society is to mentor young women in
> their development of leadership and community responsibility
> through respect for elders, decision making, connectedness to the
> family and the community, Native traditional awareness, women's
> cultural awareness, and being drug and alcohol-free.
> Activities, in addition to traditional Native American drumming,
> singing and dancing, will include a Native American arts and crafts
> sale, cultural exchange workshops, and children's activities. The
> gathering is intended to honor women and the Drum, and to celebrate
> the right of all indigenous nations to freedom, language and the
> practice of spirituality.
> Drum groups and dancers may register to participate between 4:00
> and 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, and on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to
> 12:00 p.m. The first four Drum groups registered will be paid and
> day money will be available for dancers. No phone registrations
> please.
> This event is drug and alcohol free and smoking will not be
> permitted in the Community Center building.
> +*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~
> "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully
> because we know the faces of our future generations are looking
> up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them."
> -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation
> ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~
> Michele Lord LoomWork mosa@netcom.com
> +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+
> =========================================
> From: Erick C Johnson <erickj@CS.Arizona.EDU>
> Subject: WILDCAT POW WOW in Tucson, Arizona
>
> Newsgroups: alt.native
>
> Tribal People United presents "The Third Annual" University of Arizona
> WILDCAT POW WOW March 2-3, 1996. Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona.
>
> -----------HEADSTAFF--------
> MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Sammy Tonekei White Scottsdale, Arizona
> ARENA DIRECTOR: Lee Williams Tempe, Arizona
> HEAD GOURD DANCER: Gary Koshiway Keams Canyon, Arizona
> HEAD MAN DANCER: Tahlee Redbird Carnegie, Oklahoma
> HEAD WOMAN DANCER: Theresa Jim Brimhall, New Mexico
>
> HOST NORTHERN DRUM: Star Blanket Juniors Balcarres, Saskatchewan
> HOST SOUTHERN DRUM: Rose Hill Pawnee, Oklahoma
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION please respond or call (520)292-8802 for Gina or
> Erick, (520)626-4240 TPU POW WOW HOTLINE.
> ==================================================
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--
> Notice of Copyright Clearance by Contributors:
> The following have granted permission for their original articles to
> be reposted in order to help mend the Sacred Hoop:
> Janet Smith, Debra F. Sanders, Brooke Craig, Andrea Lord, Frosty Deere,
> Leo T. Chavez, Jr., Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia Gonzales via John King,
> Nisqually Library, Turtle Heart (Healing the Sacred Hoop with Song Poems),
> Tall Eagle, Planet Peace, Brave Star, Mark Fiddler, Kristine Donahue,
> William Commanda and Frank Decontie via Ondamitagos, Lee Flier, Larry Innes,
> Mary Dog Soldier, David Burlingame, David Goyette, Joseph Thompson
> --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--
>
> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
> ~ Part B of this newsletter (not included) has already been distributed
> via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists.

Looking for something different? Search our site.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.native-net.org

Native Americans

Native American Tribes:

NativeNet Archives