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Articles: Florida Manatee Refuge At Stake Florida Manatee Refuges At Stake
Wed Jul 31, 6:48 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge ruled Wednesday the Bush administration must designate by Nov. 1 where it will create new areas to protect Florida's endangered manatees from boaters.
The Justice Department had asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to scrap an agreement with environmentalists last year requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create 16 manatee sanctuaries and refuges, with reduced speed zones.
Instead, Sullivan ordered the agency to say how it plans to establish 14 more refuges. The agency had created two but then delayed on the other 14, in deference to a request from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
"If you undercut a deal, if you violate a court order, you can't do that without any consequences," said Eric Glitzenstein, lead attorney for the environmentalists.
Chuck Underwood, a Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman in Jacksonville, Fla., said once a plan is issued in November — one month earlier than the government planned — it would take six months to actually create more refuges. But the agency will not necessarily agree to create all 14, he said.
"We may do all of them or only some of them," Underwood said.
Sullivan ruled earlier this month that deferring action on the other 14 areas violated the settlement, and he directed the Fish and Wildlife Service to come up with a new timetable.
On Wednesday, Sullivan also threatened to hold Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt of court. He ordered her to show why she should not be found in contempt, after not complying with the agreement so far. Administration officials have until the end of August to respond.
Interior Department spokesman John Wright said agency officials believed they acted properly.
"Secretary Norton and all the federal defendants in the case believed at all times that they were acting consistent with the court's prior orders and their obligations under federal law," Wright said.
___
On the Net:
Fish and Wildlife Service: http://northflorida.fws.gov
Save the Manatee Club: http://www.savethemanatee.org
Have You Ever Seen A Real Indian? SOURCE: The American Indian College Fund
Have You Ever Seen A Real Indian? American Indian College Fund Advertising Campaign Challenges Stereotypes
PORTLAND, Ore., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Indian College Fund announced today the launch of a new advertising campaign that challenges ``Indian'' stereotypes by profiling strong, successful Native American people. Created by long-time College Fund advertising agency, Wieden + Kennedy/Portland, the print campaign is expected to appear in April publications.
``With this campaign, it is our goal to challenge the American public's notions about who Indian people are and what they can become,'' said Richard Williams, Executive Director of the Denver-based nonprofit organization. ``We are very proud of the achievements and contributions of the people featured in our ads and we want to illuminate those positive images.''
The campaign's goal, which features accomplished American Indian professionals and tribal college students, is to portray a contemporary and accurate image of Native American people. Photographed by Chris Buck, the ads feature Rick West, Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, Surgeon and Associate Dean, Dartmouth Medical School; Dean Bear Claw, Director/Screenwriter; Jarett Medicine Elk, Business Major; and Carly Kipp, Biology Major. Each full-page, color photograph carries the bold headline ``Have You Ever Seen A Real Indian?'' The copy will include a short version of each individual's resume as well as a fact about the benefits of Indian Colleges:
Rick West, Southern Cheyenne. Attorney, Founding Director, Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian, traditional powwow dancer.
Reservations can have an 85% unemployment rate.
But one year after graduating, 90% of tribal college students are working or
pursuing higher degrees.
To contribute, call 800.880.5887 or go to collegefund.org.
Carly Kipp, Blackfeet. Biology major, tutor, mom -- pursuing a doctorate in
veterinary medicine, specializing in large animal surgery.
Many tribal college graduates stay on the reservation. Economists project
that every dollar of their incomes will turn over two and one half times.
To contribute, call 800.880.5887 or go collegefund.org.
The new tagline, ``Invest in our Strength'' is a direct call to action to support the college fund and its mission. The line also connotes that contributions are not handouts, but investments that will derive positive economic and cultural dividends for American Indians.
The American Indian College Fund and Wieden + Kennedy/Portland have been collaborating for eleven years. Passion and collaboration are crucial to the success of a pro bono advertising campaign. Once the ads are completed, the agency teams with print partners to secure placement of the advertisements in national media outlets. This emotion-driven process is facilitated by the media partners' desire to promote good will. Since the American Indian College Fund and Wieden + Kennedy relationship began in 1990, approximately $14 million has been donated in media to promote the college fund.
Founded in 1989, the American Indian College Fund serves approximately 26,000 Indian students across the United States. With its credo, ``Educating the Mind and Spirit,'' the Denver-based non-profit distributes scholarships and support to 31 tribal colleges that have received growing acclaim for successfully providing education that combines accredited academics with Native culture. The College Fund also supports endowments and public awareness, as well as college programs in Native cultural preservation and teacher training.
Wieden + Kennedy, founded in Portland, Oregon, is one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies with offices in New York, Amsterdam, London and Tokyo. A full-service creatively led communications company, Wieden + Kennedy has helped build some of the strongest global brands including Nike, Miller, Coca-Cola and ESPN.
SOURCE: The American Indian College Fund
American Indians Await Memorial
American Indians Await Memorial
By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press Writer
LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT, Mont. (AP) - Clifford Long Sioux comes to this spot on the rolling prairie of eastern Montana each year. It is how he honors his forebear, Buffalo Hump, and the other Cheyenne warriors who died defending their way of life against Lt. Col. George Custer and the 7th Cavalry.
But there is no memorial here to Long Sioux's people, only a monument to Custer and his men, a granite monolith atop a flowing, grassy rise.
``A memorial should have been up many, many years ago to honor the ones WE lost,'' says Long Sioux, a Northern Cheyenne tribal member.
Nearly 125 years after the battle memorialized as ``Custer's Last Stand,'' there is little at the battlefield to acknowledge the American Indians who fought.
For the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe, the battle was their last major victory in a long and eventually unsuccessful fight to save their land from seizure by whites. Even the Crow, allies of Custer, and Arikara, who had scouts who died fighting on Custer's side, believe recognition is lacking.
When Congress ordered Custer's name removed from the battlefield in 1991, it also authorized an Indian memorial. But lawmakers never provided any money. Without federal aid, construction on the $2.5 million project is unlikely to begin until at least 2005.
``It's a slap in the face to those of us who are descendants ... and Native America as a whole, because it appears we may not be regarded equally to other citizens of the United States, still, in 2001,'' said Linda Pease, whose great-grandfather was a Crow scout for Custer.
The proposed memorial includes bronze outlines of three warriors, representing the victorious Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe. It features a sunken circle and ``spirit gate,'' meant to welcome the cavalry dead and act as a counterpoint to the soldiers' monument, about 100 yards to the south.
But even the proposed memorial has proven controversial.
Some Indians complain the monument, designed by whites, doesn't fully tell their stories. Many so-called ``Custer buffs'' believe it is poor taste to locate the Indian memorial so close to the cavalry monument.
Indians say they want their children to have a fuller understanding of what happened June 25-26, 1876, on the rolling plains southeast of Billings, and to be proud. It is not about political correctness, they say, but about fairness, honesty and equality.
Custer, seemingly underestimating the size of the Indian force, ordered the attack on the Indians camped in the river valley. Custer and more than 260 of his men were wiped out.
``I remember going (to the battlefield) as a kid and the heroic ... Custer was glorified,'' Pease said. ``I remember going away thinking, 'That doesn't seem right, but maybe we're not as good as other people.'''
``It formed a real negative perception of myself as a Native American,'' she added. ``And it does that generation after generation, as well as giving credence to white supremacy.''
The battlefield's superintendent, Neil Mangum, is working hard to get the Indian memorial built. Faced with paltry private donations, he nearly doubled the site's entrance fee in February - from $6 to $10 a car - to meet the 2005 construction goal.
``It's a fact that we do not present a balanced perspective to the public. There is more than one story to tell here,'' Mangum acknowledged.
Visitors to the battlefield's museum and interpretive center do get a more balanced history lesson of the battle. But anyone visiting just the battlefield gets a skewed view.
``They put up a memorial for Custer and they say that we're a part of the same United States and a part of this society,'' said Bob Kelly, a Crow tribal member. ``Why don't they recognize the valiant effort of the Indians?''
In 1988, members of the American Indian Movement put an iron plaque at the base of the Custer's granite obelisk. The plaque read, in part: ``In honor of our Indian patriots who fought and defeated the U.S. Cavalry in order to save our women and children from mass-murder.''
It was removed.
In 1999, two granite markers were erected to depict where two Cheyenne warriors were wounded and died. But Indians say that is not enough.
Chauncey Whitwright III, a Sioux from Wolf Point, Mont., quit work on a memorial advisory committee over what he perceived as government foot-dragging. He threatened last year to tear down the Custer monument if the Indian memorial wasn't built by the 125th anniversary of the battle, this June 25. He has since recanted the threat, but the anger remains.
``It is time for this country to grow up, buck up and acknowledge its sins,'' Whitwright said.
Former Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., who co-sponsored a bill that included the battlefield name-change, said a memorial is in the national interest and that the government should pay for it.
An estimated $40,000 to $50,000 has been raised from tribes and through donations at the battlefield, Mangum said. The National Park Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the Park Service, has received small donations but ``we're not close to the $2.5 million,'' said Jen Larson, director of public relations.
Indian leaders and Mangum want Congress to contribute, even as disagreement over the memorial itself continues.
Pease, the Crow representative on the committee that chose the design, objected to it initially because the Arikara and Crow were omitted.
She gave in when the Park Service assured her parts of the memorial could be redesigned or that the scouts' stories could be ``included heavily'' in the interpretive portion.
To others, the memorial is not only about honoring their fallen heroes, but about taking some shine off Custer, who is still considered a hero by some battlefield visitors.
``It was always 'those savages that killed Custer,''' said John Pretty on Top, a former cultural director for the Crow tribe. ``Custer came to annihilate the Indians and the Indians were fighting for freedom.''
William Wells, who publishes a battlefield newsletter and is president of a Custer historical group, said he supports an Indian memorial.
But he believes the desire to ``belittle'' Custer, rather than honor the Indian dead, was a motivating factor in building a memorial and changing the battlefield name.
He also believes there are better places for a memorial to the Indians, including in the river valley where the Indian village was located.
Legislation, however, says the Indian memorial is to be built near the cavalry monument.
``It's quite a site and its stark loneliness is the thing that impresses almost everyone,'' Wells said of the existing obelisk. ``And I think that almost any other monument or structure or anything else in that area takes away from that.''
Long Sioux, who said his great-great-grandfather Buffalo Hump died in the battle, said his ancestors gave their lives for a more noble cause that should be recognized.
``All I'm doing is trying to help recognize the fallen warriors and what they stood for, to do the honorable thing for them, honor them and recognize them for giving ultimate sacrifice,'' he said.
-
On the Net:
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm
Indian memorial design: http://www.nps.gov/libi/design.htm
The Lastest Atrocity Against the Dineh STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BEGAYE ON THE BULLDOZING OF HPL SUNDANCE CEREMONY
SITE BY THE HOPI TRIBE
Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona)--
The Hopi governmentís decision to bulldoze the Sundance ceremony site at
Big Mountain is deplorable. In the strongest terms, I object to such a
violent action against the Navajo families who reside on Big Mountain
and who participate, as a part of their spiritual beliefs, in the
Sundance ceremony. The Hopi government appears to be persecuting these
families for their religious beliefs, as well as for their heartfelt
desire to stay on their ancestral lands and to continue their
traditional ways.
The Sundance ceremony has been performed at Big Mountain for a number of
years at the request of the Big Mountain Navajo families. It has become
an important part of their spiritual lives. Like all peoples, including
the Hopis, the Navajo families on Big Mountain should have the freedom
to practice their non-violent beliefs without governmental interference.
Full article at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pageao.htm Mitsubishi's Baja Salt Factory Plans TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND STATE EDITORS:
California Coastal Commission Votes Overwhelmingly to Oppose Mitsubishi's Baja Salt Factory Plans: IFAW
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 -/E-Wire/-- The California Coastal Commission has today passed a hard-hitting, resolution highly critical of Mitsubishi, stating, "the Mitsubishi Corporation's proposed construction of the world's largest salt factory at Laguna San Ignacio threatens to disrupt the health, integrity and biological productivity of lagoon ecosystems as the result of, among other factors, increased salinity, diminution of water quality, ship traffic, noise and contamination." (http://ceres.ca.gov/coastalcomm/leginfo/Tu9b1-mm.pdf)
The resolution was passed with a resounding 9 to 1 vote, following testimony by Mitsubishi vice president Stephen Wechselblatt, attorney Richard Layman of Richardson & Associates on behalf of the government of Mexico's Commerce Secretary, Mark Spalding of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW - www.savebajawhales.com), and Joel Reynolds of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC www.nrdc.org).
The proceedings took an emotional turn, when some of the over 300 individuals who had packed into the meeting room in support of the resolution were given a chance to speak. One young boy boldly stood to say simply, "I'm 7 years old. I've been to Laguna San Ignacio. I've been kissed by a whale." Representatives of many local environmental groups also spoke, including those from the Sierra Club, the California League of Conservation Voters, the League for Coastal Protection, Surfer Rider, Heal the Bay, and Santa Monica Bay Keeper. No member of the public spoke in opposition of the resolution. Sara Wan, Chair of the California Coastal Commission clearly stated her objections to Mitsubishi's plans saying, "this is like passing a resolution on whether to build an industrial facility in Yosemite National Park," and reacted strongly to the company's testimony calling it, "a completely ridiculous argument."
San Diego Coast Commission Representative, Patrick Kruer, reiterated Wan's criticisms of Mitsubishi saying, "as a businessman you Mitsubishi are taking a terrible risk. You are not using the prudent businessman's rule."
The California Coastal Commission is the State of California's principal coastal management agency. Its responsibilities include the, "protection of regional, state and national interests in assuring the maintenance of the long-term productivity and economic vitality of coastal resources ... ." Because of the Commission's high-profile role in coastal management, environmentalists consider this resolution to be a significant milestone in their campaign to Save Laguna San Ignacio.
"The Coastal Commission vote today sends a powerful message to Mitsubishi that this project has no future," said NRDC's Joel Reynolds following the vote announcement.
IFAW's Director of Habitat for Animals, Jared Blumenfeld, reiterated this sentiment saying, "Mitsubishi is a giant asleep at the wheel. They are a danger to the environment and to their bottom line. Today's vote should be their wake up call," he added. "With unprecedented worldwide opposition to Mitsubishi's plans to destroy Baja's Laguna San Ignacio, it will be hard for the company to once again hit the snooze button."
SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare
-0- 01/11/2000
/CONTACT: Jennifer Mitchell of IFAW -- USA, 508-744-2076, cell: 508-737-1584, or Jacob Scherr of NRDC, 202-289-2367/
/Web site: http://www.ifaw.org/ A comparative analysis between Australian Indigenous people and the Canadian/Greenland Indigenous peoples
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/hreoc/atsisjc_strategies/13.html
Indigenous Social Justice Strategies and Recommendations - International experience
The development of a uniquely Australian concept of regional agreements will benefit from analysis of case histories overseas. This is modern Indigenous policy-making at its best - checking the experience of others for its strengths and weaknesses, analyzing why and how it works, and then building that knowledge into our own designs to strengthen them. 2
The first modern land claims settlement was in Alaska in 1971. The US Congress stepped in to resolve conflict between Indigenous land use and the ambitions of a newly formed state whose legislature was dominated by recent settlers and development interests. Indigenous peoples organized regionally and their regional units were recognized and formalized by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 1971 which also provided for the selection and distribution of land. The ongoing saga of land, river and sea disputes since has been a sort of court-room Wild West show. Indigenous peoples have clung to their federal rights and status against the assimilation and development pressure of the State of Alaska. They have come to various conclusions.
Some regions are developing regional governments under federal law, while others like the North Slope Inuit have created strong governments using State law, although they regard their State relations as temporary and inadequate. Others are centering their hopes in the economic clout of their regional post-claims corporations. All, however, have found that the sort of uncertain and confrontational relations between Indigenous and State authorities, relations that have a familiar ring for WA and Queensland Aborigines, is an unsatisfactory interim arrangement. Meanwhile, regional indigenous bodies have proven the best - and often the only safeguard for these peoples as they struggle to establish a workable future and adequate community services and economy. To maintain productive environments of land and sea against irresponsible development, the Indigenous regions often find themselves working with the federal government and America-wide social and environmental movements to withstand the pressure. 3
Two regional mega-agreements are worth noting because they involve various features which may be highly applicable to Australian contexts, both small and large scale.
Greenland has been the most remarkable regional agreement one, which has attracted tremendous international interest as a model for indigenous self-determination. This huge island, most of it covered with thick glaciers, has a mostly Inuit population of 55,000 centered in outposts and small towns if the SouthWest coast. From 1979 when the Home Rule plan negotiated by Greenland’s Inuit politicians with Denmark came into effect, a parliamentary-style Greenland legislature and government have taken over all the matters which the states control in Australia, and a few more as well.
All Greenland cabinet ministers from that time have been Inuit-descended and have spoken Greenland's Inuit language (in which all laws and official documents are written, as well as in Danish). Greenland and Denmark negotiate resources development on- and offshore, with either side able to veto policy or any specific project. Greenland vetoed uranium mining and offshore oil exploration in the 1980s, for instance. Fisheries off the Southwest coast are Greenland's economic base, and are jealously protected against foreign boats and environmental risks. Block funding from Denmark is the anchor of public revenues but the Greenlanders are vigorously seeking out new economic opportunities, including tourism and mining. When the Greenland premier, Lars Emil Johansen, and his team visited Torres Strait and later took part in the Aboriginal regional agreements workshop in Cairns in mid-1994, he had much insight and experience to share. 4
As noted earlier, Australian Indigenous organizations have found rich food for thought in many failures and more recent successes in Canadian regional land claims experience. These agreements sometimes cover large areas, and to date most have been in Northern Canada where conditions are similar to Northern and Central Australia, with the obvious difference of -40 and +40 January temperatures. However, this pattern of agreement is now moving south into the more settled regions of Canada because it has proven a practical and successful means to settled regions of Canada because it has proven a practical and successful means to settle Indigenous and non-Indigenous land disputes, to provide effective environmental and territory management, and to enable Indigenous peoples to tackle their own socio-economic problems in culturally appropriate ways. 5
Nunuvut has been the Canadian regional agreement most noticed (though frequently misunderstood) in Australia. 6 It highlights the flexibility and scope for trade-offs which are the mot attractive features of the regional agreement model. While Inuit obtained secure title to land and sea areas essential to them and their livelihoods, they share management of a territory larger than Queensland with the federal government and also share the managing of seas. Their marine harvesting rights are exclusive, and their harvesting needs for land species take precedence over all other people's.
The Nunavut/Inuit insisted that Ottawa deal with their need for adequate and appropriate public services and self-government at the same time, so they negotiated a regional constitution and separation from the Northwest Territories to become a new Northern territory named Nunavut. The first Nunavut parliament and government will be elected in 1999. Nunavut claims and self-government, unlike earlier Canadian schemes which experienced initial problems, are being phased in through thorough implementation processes which Inuit have been negotiating with Ottawa to assure the best results and most local jobs. There was understandable interest when Nunavut's Inuit leader and project staff head spoke to a large Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander gathering in Darwin in 1992. 7
The regional treaty-making process underway in British Columbia (BC), a resource-rich region with social and political history similar to Queensland and Western Australia is important for Australians. After defeats in landmark court cases on native title, a new provincial government there is preparing negotiations in co-operative spirit with Indian leaders and the federal government:
The province of British Columbia is committed to negotiating modern-day treaties with [the Indian] First Nations - treaties which clarify aboriginal rights to land and resources and address issues like self-government and the social, economic and environmental concerns of all parties. 8
Particularly interesting for Australians may be marine environmental and fisheries management in the impending BC treaties, already being rehearsed through annual negotiated agreements between the federal government and Indigenous regional or tribal groups. 9
There are now half a dozen major regional agreements across Northern Canada, and many more under negotiation. Up to 75% of the country may soon be under some form of joint Indigenous-government management. Some are small regional groupings of small communities which may work together better than on their own, while others are large regions of one people such as Nunavit. They illustrate the general point that different solutions work for different peoples. OLDEST ARTIFACTS IN CALIFORNIA Report: Ancient bones may rewrite American history (Thanks to society member, “Forest Walker”)
April 12, 1999
Web posted at: 1:17 p.m. EDT (1717 GMT)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- The ancient bones of a woman found on a California island appear to be the oldest discovered in North America and could change the theory of how humans first arrived on the continent, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The two thigh bones were unearthed 40 years ago on Santa Rosa Island off Santa Barbara and languished in storage until scientists used newer techniques to test their age, the newspaper said.
The surprising result was that the bones appeared to about 13,000 years old, 1,400 years older than previously thought, an age that would make them the oldest human remains found in North America, the newspaper said. BOYCOTT
WAL-MART/LOWES AND JDN REALTY CORPORATION, RAVAGERS OF NATIVE AMERICA Last summer, 1997, it was announced that construction of a
Wal-Mart/Lowe's super center was being planned for a location on Charlotte Pike in the
West Meade neighborhood of Davidson County Tennessee, Nashville Tennessee. The
construction plans require the destruction of a prehistoric
Native American cemetery and Civil War fortifications. The Native cemetery
dates to the Mississippian cultural period and is probably around 800 years old. There are
at LEAST 40 known Indian graves on this site, and it is believed that the number of
burials may be 60 or more. The Civil War fortifications are Confederate cannon
emplacements and embankments along the Cumberland River known as Kelley's Battery. These
guns overlooked the river and were used to shell Union river traffic." The residents
of West Meade, local Native Americans, and others rallied to stop the rezoning of the
property. Their bid was unsuccessful despite proving that locating a super center across
the street from an elementary school would endanger the children as well as concerns over
crime and inadequate road systems to handle the increased traffic. Add to this the
destruction of the native site and the Confederate archaeological features, it is beyond
belief that the zoning change was ever approved. FACTS: 1) On Monday October 27, 1997, JDN Realty filed a 'complaint versus
unknown descendants' in Davidson County Chancery Court, requesting permission to
'terminate the use of land as a burial ground and to remove certain remains and artifacts
and rebury these items' {#97-3529II} 2) On January 20th, 1998, the Intertribal Council of the Five
Civilized Tribes faxed a letter to the court and the Tennessee Department of Archaeology
as the 'unknown descendants' of the complaint. This letter was never heard in court and
the judge disavowed any knowledge of its existence. 3) On January 23rd, 1998, Davidson County Tennessee Chancellor
Babara McCoy ruled that Native Americans have no 'standing' in Tennessee courts. 4) On January 28th, 1998, Chancellor McCoy terminated the Native
cemetery clearing the way for destruction of the site. The ruling was based on
Judeo-Christian standards of belief regarding what constitutes an abandoned 5) Ch. 468, Part 15; T.C.A., Part 11-1515.]11-6-116"
"Excavation of areas containing Native American Indian human remains" and
0400-9-1-.05 Observation of Disinterment" "OBSERVATION OF DISINTERMENT BY NATIVE
AMERICAN OBSERVERS" is the legal protocol for observers during Native American grave
removal in Tennessee. Tennessee state archaeologist Nick Fielder stated that JDN Realty
will not allow any Native American observer during removals other than the one from the
Tennessee Archaeological Council. 6) Previously it was thought that an area near the creek was the
only Native American site on the property. First reports from the state archeologist and
other archaeologists are that a mound is on the property and extends about a quarter mile
to the creek. Archaeologists are now denying the existence of a major mound feature.
Emphasis is being placed on non-mortuary features which are not protected by law
and any artifacts and remains recovered become the property of the land owner. 7) Numerous 'prayer ties' and 'prayer feathers' have been removed
from the property reportedly because they were disgusting to the property owner. 8)On March 13th, 1998 a demonstration against this project by local
Native Americans was held at the entrance to the site. Three individuals were
admitted to the burial site. One was Lou Medicine Bird, a Southern Cheyenne
Tsississtas Priest who consecrated the site and declared it sacred. The United
States Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over some of the site and they relayed to us
that FEMA flood plain management ordinances apply to most of the rest of the site.
Therefore, there is federal land and a sacred site which would prevent development under
Federal Executive Order 13007, but state and federal law bodies are refusing to
enforce this order and stop the construction. 9) Historically Tennessee has seized any artifacts recovered from
these sites. In this case it was ordered that any artifacts be reburied with the remains.
Yet, the local media and others with the archaeological contractor have stated the state
would seize these artifacts too. Further, the normal study period in Tennessee for remains
has been 6 months in this case it was ordered to be 1 year. Why, when there are thousands
of remains in museums, universities, etc. already studied' is it necessary to take a year
to study these? 10) Recovered Native American remains are stored in cardboard boxes
until reburial. When they are reburied these boxes then become their coffin not the stone
boxes they were originally placed. ~~~~~ BOYCOTT WAL-MART/LOWES AND JDN ~~~~~ Your support is urgently need to stop the destruction of this site.
Contact your congressional representative and the offices listed below. JDN Realty Corporation Wal-Mart Lowe's Senator Bill Frist Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist Senator Fred Thompson Please copy and distribute Presidential Order, regarding American Indian sacred sites
UN Human
Rights Delegation Holds Hearings on Forced Relocation and Religious Persecution of the
Dineh people Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 22:13:30 -0800 Mailing List: Big Mountain List <bigmtlist@hotmail.com> The following article was sent in by Mauro Oliveira of SOL
Communications. BIG MOUNTAIN, NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA --
On February 2nd and 3rd, at the home of Glenna Begay, a traditional Dineh elder, hearings
were held by Mr. Abdelfattah Amor of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and several UN
affiliated NGO's, investigating charges of the forced relocation of traditional Dineh
people from their homes, religious persecution against those who practice traditional
Dineh beliefs, and environmental degradation of traditional Dineh lands by Peabody Coal
Company. The hearings were the result of a complaint filed by the Dineh in 1997
charging the US Federal Government with human rights violations. The hearings are an
attempt to pressure the US Federal Government to repeal Public Laws 93-531 and 104-301
which have legalized the denial of access to water, livestock confiscation, the denial of
the right to gather firewood for the Dineh to heat their homes in winter -- even in cases
of life threatening illness, and the denial of the right of the Dineh to make improvements
in their housing. The Dineh filed the complaint because the US Federal Government has
consistently blocked any attempt by the Dineh to address their grievances in a US court.
The Dineh also hope that the United Nations will formally charge the United States
with human rights violations. British-owned Peabody Coal Company (henceforth, PCC),
the world's largest privately-held coal company, operates the Black Mesa/Kayenta strip
mine in the heart of the Black Mesa region of the Dineh reservation. Over 4,000 burial and
sacred sites have been destroyed as a result of strip mining. There is no protection given
to Dineh burial grounds and sacred sites. Their religion, which is land based and site
specific, is the foundation of their way of life. The Dineh state that Public Laws 93-531
and 104-301 were written specifically to promote PCC's interests in the region. Mr.
Amor and the visiting NGO's heard the testimony of Dineh elders from all over the Black
Mesa region of the Dineh reservation. They gave their accounts of their forced eviction or
the eviction of their neighbors from their land, the demolition of theirs and their
neighbors homes, as well as accounts of harassment by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. The
hearings for both days lasted well into the night. Elders from the neighboring Hopi
reservation also gave their testimony. They verified many of the statements of the Dineh
elders, especially the accounts of the increasing scarcity of water in the region. The
Dineh and Hopi reservations sit on top of one of the largest aquifers in the South West.
PCC has been using massive amounts of water from the aquifer to operate coal slurry
pipelines that transport coal to Las Vegas and Southern California without replacing the
water they use, which is a requirement of US mining regulation. The result of these mining
violations has meant that well's are rapidly running dry all across the Dineh and Hopi
reservations. The Hopi elders also came to publicly dispel the myth of a Dineh/Hopi land
dispute, which the traditional Dineh and Hopi say has been manufactured by the Hopi and
Dineh tribal councils in an effort to prevent solidarity among the Hopi and Dineh in this
struggle. The traditional Dineh and Hopi regard their tribal councils as nothing more than
puppets of the US Federal Government who merely rubber-stamp any proposal made by the
Federal Government and its corporate backers. Well over one hundred Dineh
supporters from all over the United States also came to attend the event, and donate food,
clothing and their labor. Members of Free Radio Berkeley (Berkeley, CA) and Radio
Clandestina (Los Angeles, CA) set up a temporary micropower radio station, Free Radio
Dineh, for the UN visit. For three days, interviews and commentary from Dineh resistors as
well as testimony from the hearings were broadcast to residents of the Black Mesa/Big
Mountain region. The members of FRB and RC hope to set up a permanent micropower station
for the traditional Dineh in the near future. The event was universally considered
to be a success, and the Dineh are hopeful that they will see a positive result from the
hearings. In his opening remarks, Mr. Amor told those in attendance at the hearings,
"I will listen with an open mind and an open heart". Whether the UN General
Assembly will listen with open minds and hearts and have the strength to charge the United
States with human rights violations remains to be seen.
HEYAPI Society of
the Wolf: Dispersal, Environmental Information: As you know there is some "difficulty" regarding the Hopi
and the Dine (Navajo) regarding the Black Mountain open pit coal mine and its environs.
Here is Some information for you to look at: Now, take these facts and relate them to the information from the
Hopi and Navajo on the mesa that we have been forwarding to you. Draw your own conclusions
as to why these people have been set upon. Eyes of the Wolf. |
