History of Native Americans and more

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

AISESnet Discussion List (aisesnet@bioc09.uthscsa.edu)
Mon, 11 Mar 1996 18:23:41 -0600 Original Sender: La Nina <nmh2@axe.humboldt.edu>

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.
Google
 
 
Native Americans
Famous Native Americans
Native American Ancestry
Native American Actors
Native American Art
Native American Artifacts
Native American Artists
Native American Beadwork
Native American Bear
Native American Belts
Native American Blankets
Native American Boarding Schools
Native American Business
Native American Calendar
Native American Chokers
Native American Clip Art
Native American Clothing
Native American Crafts
Native American Culture
Native American Dancers
Native American Decor
Native American Designs
Native American Dolls
Native American Drawings
Native American Dream Catchers
Native American Dresses
Native American Drums
Native American Educaiton
Native American Feathers
Native American Flutes
Native American Food
Native American Gifts
Native American Grants
Native American Hair Ties
Native American Headdress
Native American Herbal Remedies
Native American History
Native American Horses
Native American Indians
Native American Indian Jewelry
Native American Indian Rugs
Native American Instruments
Native American Language
Native American Legends
Native American Masks
Native American Medicine
Native American Moccasins
Native American Movies
Native American Music
Native American Mythology
Native American Myths
Native American Names
Native American Painting
Native American Poetry
Native American Pottery
Native American Pow Wow
Native American Quotes
Native American Rain Dance
Native American Recipes
Native American Regalia
Native American Remedies
Native American Reservations
Native American Rings
Native American Ringtones
Native American Rugs
Native American Shields
Native American Silver
Native American Silver Bracelets
Native American Songs
Native American Spears
Native American Stone Tools
Native American Symbols
Native American Tattoos
Native American Tattoo Designs
Native American Tribal Tattoos
Native American Tomahawks
Native American Tools
Native American Totem Poles
Native American Toys
Native American Tribes
Native American Turquoise Jewelry
Native American Warrior
Native American Weapons
Native American Wedding Dresses
Native American Wedding Rings
Native American Women
Native American Womens Bracelet

Indian Motorcycles
Native American Tribes:
Anasazi Indians
Apache Indians
Aztec Indians
Blackfoot Indians
Cherokee Indians
Cheyenne Indians
Chippewa Indians
Choctaw Indians
Comanche Indians
Cree Indians
Creek Indians
Crow Indians
Eastern Woodland Indians
Hopi Indians
Iroquois Indians
Lakota Indians
Mohawk Indians
Navajo Indians
Nez Perce Indians
Pawnee Indians
Plains Indians
Pueblo Indians
Seminole Indians
Seneca Indians
Sioux Indians
Shawnee Indians
Shoshone Indians
Southwest Indians
Taino Indians
Zuni Indians




NativeNet Archives
ASISESNet
About ASISESNet
Acknowledge an Indian Tribe
Algonquin or Algonkian?
American Indian Movement
Career Opportunities
Democratic Convention in Chiapas
Dene Cultural Institute Newsletter
Kansa (Kaw) Indians
NATCHAT - Library of Congress
NATLANG - 1990-1993
NATLANG - 1995
NATLANG - July 1995
NATLANG - 1997
NativeNet Mailing Lists
NGOS Against Indians/Brazil
The Medicine Wheel
American Indian Art/Ward Churchill
Wisconsin Tribes Resist Exxon

Contact Us

© Native-Net.org 2005-2020