Indi Issues

Indians Invade Mount Rushmore

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:52:17 GMT

From: Indians Invade Mount Rushmore
Date: Aug 28, 2008 7:29 AM

Press Contacts:

Madonna Thunder Hawk-Co-Founder of The Black Hills Alliance-(605) 441-0342

Quanah Parker Brightman-Vice President of U.N.A.-(415) 233-3170

For Immediate Release:

Native Americans to gather in Keystone, South Dakota to Commemorate the 38 Year Anniversary of the Historic Invasion and Occupation of the ''Shrine of Democracy' Mount Rushmore and to Honor the Women of the Red Power Movement.

What:Mount Rushmore Reunion to Remember the Native American Occupation and Take Over of Mount Rushmore
When:Friday August 29th , 11:00am to 4am
Where:Amphitheater, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Amphitheater, Keystone South Dakota
Sponsors: United Americans Inc.(U.N.A.), The family of Chief Lame Deer, Fast Horse Productions
Co-Sponsor:American Indian Movement(AIM)

August 29, 2008 marks the 38th anniversary of the historic Mount Rushmore Occupation of 1970. Native Americans representing groups from around the country will gather to reflect on that day, renewing friendships and bonds and to honor the women of the red power movement.

On August 29th 1970, a small group of young Indians invaded Mount Rushmore, the so-called 'national shrine of democracy' The invasion brought together Indians form different tribes and reservations who converged to help the Sioux Nation in their efforts to reclaim the sacred Black Hills and to force the Federal Government to be held accountable for the illegal taking of their Lands. At 7pm on August 29th , after eluding authorities, the group of young natives reached the top of the mountain near the four faces of the presidents where they hung a large flag with the words:SIOUX INDIAN POWER.
The Paha Sapa-The Black Hills-is a sacred place for all Sioux People. It is where all Sioux life began,where our creation stories originate from 'The heart of everything that is'

United Native Americans is sponsoring the reunion of this historic event that honors and recognizes the women of the Red Power Movement such as Madonna Thunder Hawk, Martha Fast horse and Maxine Bordeaux-warriors who have fought for native rights, protection, family and community,treaty rights, human rights, environmental justice and cultural preservation. The younger generation will have the opportunity to experience living history with presentations planned, listening in the oral tradition to elders who were part of the original occupation.

The reunion will also recognize the United Nations International Day for the Worlds Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2007. In observance of this day, we Demand that the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 be Recognized and Honored by The United States of America. U.S. Courts have recognized the illegality of these actions and offer modest payments, but the Sioux Nation Remains determined to get the Black Hills Returned to Tribal Communities. We will not accept any amount of money for our own sacred sites. In the words of Lehman Brightman-President of U.N.A.- The Principal Leader of the invasion, who was asked how long the native people intended to stay:'As long as the grass grows, the water flows and the sunshine's'.

For more information Visit:

www. myspace. com/thewashichustolethepahasa

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Of course I am not shocked by this one bit...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:37:24 GMT

http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/010545.asp

No one pays attention to Indians at DNC
Thursday, August 28, 2008

"Funny I never noticed this when I was growing up here, but there are Indians all over the place in Denver.

Most of them are painted on walls.

I just walked three blocks from the Art Museum, where there’s a reception going on for Native leaders attending the Democratic National Convention, to find batteries for my camera. I came across a sculpture, a mural, and a poster depicting Native Americans.

Every gift shop has Native-themed jewelry and souvenirs, though in this part of downtown, they’re probably made in China.

Yet, at the Native American policy forum here just a few hours ago, attendance by the public was sparse to non-existent. There, Denverites could have met a variety of Indian leaders from around the country discussing the themes so crucial to Indian Country: health care, economic development, education.

If they were as interested in Natives as their art indicates, they could have learned a lot."

AIM

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:50:07 GMT

Alright, I'm looking for some guidance here.

I've researched the American Indian Movement, but it's hard to find good, unbiased material on them. I've heard from a lot of people that they didn't stick to their original values and just turned into a violent radical group.

However, my opinions on the situation of our people radicalizes every day. This group seems to be the place for more "radical" views, as opposed to some of the other groups on LJ.

I'd like your opinions on the matter. What do you think of AIM? Do you think they help, hurt, or don't do much at all for our struggle?

cross-posted.

You Guys seen this shit yet? I'm so pissed I've gone calm.

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:25:04 GMT

Indianz.Com. In Print.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/010249.asp

Cobell decision close to low figure cited by government
Friday, August 8, 2008
Filed Under: Cobell

Holding true to his promise to resolve the long-running Cobell case, a federal judge on Thursday said Indian beneficiaries are only owed $455.6 million for the historical mismanagement of their trust funds.

Judge James Robertson hinted at a low figure when he heard final arguments last month. But his decision still shocked the plaintiffs in the 12-year-old case, who are weighing an appeal of the decision.

"I am disappointed, to say the least," said lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana. "We believe we presented a strong, compelling case that individual Indian trust beneficiaries are entitled to much more than the government's admitted mismanagement of our trust monies over the past 120 years."

The Bush administration, on the other hand, hailed the ruling even though the government has maintained throughout the case that it has not mishandled billions of dollars in trust funds. The Interior Department and the Treasury Department were found in breach of trust for failing to account for the money.

"The department is gratified that the court recognized the complexities and uncertainties involved in this case," responded Jim Cason, the associate deputy secretary at Interior. "We look forward to working with the court, the Congress, and the plaintiffs to bring the case to final closure."

Robertson's final judgment was strikingly close to an amount that the Department of Justice conceded at a hearing last month. "At worse, no more than $409.8 million cannot be explained in the IIM system," government attorney Robert Kirschman said.

The plaintiffs cited a much higher figure -- around $46 billion -- that they said they were owed. The amount was based the government's failure to conduct an historical accounting of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust, plus any alleged benefits the government received for not disbursing all of the funds.

Robertson concluded that his court has "broad equitable authority" to address the government's admitted failure to account. But he rejected the plaintiffs' legal theories and model for disbursement as unsound and unsupported by evidence.

"Whatever problems have existed in the history of this trust, and however serious the misfeasances and malfeasances of the trustees over 120 years, there has never been any evidence of such prodigious pilfering of assets from within the trust system itself," Robertson said, rejecting claims of large amounts of money owed.

Robertson said the next step would be yet another proceeding to determine how to allocate the $455.6 million among hundreds of thousands of Indian beneficiaries. He plans to hold a hearing later this month to address the issue.

Another trip to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, or even to the U.S. Supreme Court, could delay the distribution of any funds. The government, or Congress, also could conceivably fail to restore the money to the IIM trust regardless of the outcome of the case.

The government still faces the possibility of a damages case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Attorneys have repeatedly argued that some of the plaintiffs' claims -- such as leasing land for below market value -- belong in the claims court.

The Bush administration previously proposed to settle such claims, along with the historical accounting aspect of the Cobell case, for $3.5 billion. The controversial deal was contingent on tribes and individual Indians disclaiming all future liability for their trust funds.

"Perhaps it is not too much to hope that the announcement in this memorandum of a hard number will give rise to some off-line conversation between the parties in the meantime," Robertson said in his ruling.

Cobell and four other Indian leaders filed the case on June 10, 1996, during the Clinton administration. The lawsuit was certified as a class action to represent hundreds of thousands of current and former trust beneficiaries who never received an accounting of their funds.

The first major victory came in December 1999, when Judge Royce Lamberth held that the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 required the Interior Department to account for "all funds" in the IIM trust. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in February 2001 upheld the decision, noting that the law did not create the duty to account but merely affirmed it.

Once the Bush administration came on board, the case took on a particularly acrimonious tone. After a slew of trials, contempt charges and appeals that favored the government, Lamberth was removed from the case in July 2006 amid complaints about his impartiality.

Robertson was assigned to the case in December 2006 and pledged to resolve it as quickly as possible. He convened a trial in October 2007 to examine all of the issues surrounding the historical accounting.

In January 2008, Robertson ruled that the accounting was "impossible" due to funding restraints and limitations placed on the effort by the Bush administration. He started a trial on June 9 to finally put an end to the long-running case.

The trial, which lasted less than two weeks, focused on the plaintiffs' claim that they are entitled to restitution for the failure to account and for the benefits allegedly obtained by the government for failing to distribute all of the trust funds to beneficiaries. By adding up the data from 1887, the inception of the IIM trust, to 2007, the plaintiffs arrived at $46 billion.

The government responded during trial that the overwhelming majority of trust funds were distributed. Witnesses testified that the government did not benefit from the trust, which they said represents only a small portion of the trillion-dollar U.S. economy.

Court Decision:
Cobell v. Kempthorne (August 7, 2008)

)

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:07:26 GMT

I have a question regarding possession of feathers by those who are not American Indians...
My Mother and Father are friends with a man who has recently assumed the position of groundskeeper for a local Nature center. There are three captive wild animals (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) at the center, two deer and one red-tailed hawk. My parents' friend gave them two discarded hawk feathers, and my parents want to keep them, but I'm having a tough time with this, both legally and morally.
Legally, it seems to be a bit of a gray zone, but the possession of hawk feathers does not sit well with me. It is my understanding that the Hawk Spirit is one of the higher messengers to the Creator, and that it is of course a holy animal. It's an imperfect analogy, but I feel rather like I have a crucifix stolen from a church in my house. What (if I can convince my parents of my concerns) should we do with these feathers? Should they be gifted a member of a federally recognized tribe? Should they be returned to the Nature center? Or should they be given over to the DNR? I certainly don't want my parents to get in legal trouble due to an otherwise innocent mistake, but more than that, I want to do right by the spiritual beliefs of the People.
Your thoughts would be most appreciated. Thank you kindly.

in regaurds to the article posted from Glamour.

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:17:42 GMT

Does anyone want to help me write a letter in regaurds to the article in Glamour that I posted? I think that it would be important that we do so. If you want to help me write it, let me know. Thanks!

EDIT:
the article again is here:

http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2008/07/global_diary

Sorry about that!

hey everyone

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:50:03 GMT

Has anyone else seen the article about sexual violence on Native women in this month's issue of Cosmo magazine? What did you think?

Interesting Perspective on Diseased Trees

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:20:23 GMT

Sun Jul 13, 12:38 PM

VANCOUVER - The mountain pine beetle infestation in British Columbia is changing the lives of rural First Nations on a scale not seen for generations of
native elders.

The safety of more than 100 bands is threatened by fire because the dry, red trees surround their communities, aboriginal leaders say.

Animals that natives have hunted for generations no longer take the same paths and berries and medicinal herbs don't grow where they once did beneath the
thousands upon thousands of hectares of dead pine forest.

Chief Leonard Thomas of the Nak'azdli Band, near Fort St. James in north-central B.C., is also worried about retaining jobs and keeping communities together
once the infested trees are removed.

"It is a huge cultural impact on First Nations people, simply because now we have to hunt a little harder to try and get the animals we used to sustain
ourselves," Thomas said.

"A lot of these patterns are going to change because of the mountain pine beetle."

Thomas, who is also the president of the First Nations Forestry Council, said many bands know where trees that were modified generations ago by their ancestors
stand to mark their territories or traditional camping sites along the well-worn trails.

But the beetle, and the subsequent clear-cut of the infected wood, could destroy archeological sites and trails that First Nations have been using through
B.C.'s once-thriving forests for thousands of years.

Greg Halseth, a geography professor at the University of Northern B.C., said enhanced harvesting through beetle destruction or the elevated fire threat
could be very damaging for native culture.

"There are very important cultural impacts for First Nations. In Northern B.C., culturally modified trees are an important way in which heritage and structure
on landscape is maintained. It's a way that territories are marked, clans identify areas and that sort of thing."

The pine-beetle devastation also comes at a time when First Nations have been increasing their engagement with the land, where bands are linking youth with
elders to learn about traditional native activities.

"So traditional areas where generations of people have gone for berries or for mushrooms, or have been good areas for moose or deer or rabbit, that kind
of thing, these are just changing fundamentally so it's coming at a difficult time when we have our First Nations communities becoming more ... with culture,"
Halseth said.

He said the beetle is altering much of rural B.C.

"It's like a great big exclamation mark on the changes that will be continuing for some period."

Thomas remembers elders' stories of their struggles to put food on the table in the 1930s when jobs were scarce, but because many natives lived off the
land, they survived.

He said the pine beetle is changing even that.

"Our way of life is being taken away."

Thomas' real concern is how easily fire from the tinder-dry pine trees could tear through ill-prepared First Nations communities.

A delegation of B.C. native leaders went to Ottawa last month to lobby the federal government, asking for funding to protect the communities.

"To rebuild a community is going to cost the federal government more than the amount of money they could spend protecting it right now," Thomas said.

Dozens of assessments from bands are compiled in a fire-safety report from the B.C. First Nations Forestry Council.

Some bands have their own logging firms and have already cleared the dead trees and brush from around their reserves homes and buildings.

But most have only just begun making fire protection plans.

"As the bulk of the (Lower Similkameen Indian Band) community reside in areas of high concentration of pine, we will need to develop a fire safety plan,"
reads one assessment from the report.

The most dire appraisal came from the Lhoosk uz Dene Nation reserves about 215 kilometres west of Quesnel, in central B.C.

"In recent years, it became evident that the community members were exposed to a very high risk of forest fires due to the tinder dry (mountain pine beetle)
forest surrounding the reserve," the report said.

The assessment, dated Feb. 7, 2008, said a recent fire east of a small reserve of Kluskus where 36 members live was burning just 30 kilometres away when
the wind changed, stopping the fire's progress.

"Because of the lack of a forestry road, (the Ministry of Forests and Range) was unable to even fight the fire."

The band has since negotiated an agreement with lumber firm Canfor to build a 30-kilometre logging road to the community at a cost of $900,000.

The band agreed to pay one-third of the cost, BC Timber Sales will contribute $200,000 and Canfor would pay the balance.

Thomas said many communities don't have the equipment or the manpower to do the work that will protect communities and their only plan is to evacuate if
a fire draws near.

"The pine beetle is the deadliest threat right now," he said.

Longest Walk, Wrap Up

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:19:46 GMT

Local American Indians, supporters, complete five-month walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

07/13/2008

http://www.contracostatimes.com/oakland/ci_9871595?source=rss

A cadre of Bay Area American Indian activists and their supporters completed a five-month walk across the country Friday, arriving in Washington D.C. to
demand Congress address environmental issues and the safety of sacred native sites.

Hundreds of people made most of the walk, enduring mountain snows and desert heat and narrowly avoiding natural disasters, said organizer Ricardo Tapia.

"Kansas City got hit by a tornado while our people were just sleeping on the other side of the river," Tapia said. "Three people were killed."

Tapia said about 50 people made the entire journey, which began after a ceremony on Alcatraz Island in February.

Yaynicut Franco, 20, said she walked with the group and drafted a manifesto including 16 resolutions, which walkers presented to Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
at the U.S. Capitol building Friday.

Franco described crossing a desert to reach a site called Desert Rock in New Mexico, where local Native Americans were resisting a proposed power plant.

"When we walked up the road, a bunch of elders were there crying," Franco said.

"When walkers asked them why they were crying, they told us they had dreams about us, that somebody would come and help their people. They dreamed us and
we came."

Franco included halting the Desert Rock power plant in the 16 resolutions.

She said Rep. Conyers "promised he would do everything he could to get a hearing for all those revolutions. It was an

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amazing development."

Other resolutions included asking Congress to ratify the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to support an environmental bill
of rights "To Decolonize Mother Earth and to Stop Environmental Racism," and to free Leonard Peltier.

Peltier was a Native American activist convicted in 1977 of murdering two FBI agents and sentenced to two life terms in prison. Activists have since criticized
his trial and conviction, alleging the evidence against him was weak or false and demanding his release.

Tapia emphasized the environmental concerns of the manifesto.

"Mining companies are section dredging, mining our rivers," Tapia said. "And there's a lot of mercury sitting in the bottom of the rivers. Dredging will
dig up the mercury, and fish and birds end up with a high level of contamination, and people eat that.''

"Plus, all that water goes towards San Francisco and Oakland. They should clean it up at the headwaters and not just at the end," Tapia said.

Called The Longest Walk 2, the journey also served to commemorate the first such walk, which activists undertook in 1978.

More information on that walk's history and the full listing of resolutions is available at
www.longestwalk.org.

Down with Boarder Fences!

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:01:32 GMT

July 11, 2008

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/11/southwest-tribe-calls-for-end-of-border-fence-cons/

list of 1 items
• Associated Press After peering into the U.S. from atop the U.S.-Mexico border fence, a man returns to the Mexican side ...

list end

The Tohono O'odham Nation, the second largest Indian reservation recognized by the U.S. with territory and members on both sides of the U.S.-
Mexico
border, is calling for a halt in the construction of a fence along the Southwest border.

"As original people of the territory, the Tohono O'odham have lived on and cared for that land long before such a boundary even existed; before there was
a U.S. or a Mexico,"
Ofelia Rivas
, a representative of the Indian tribe, said Thursday in Washington.

"Now, however, the construction of the border wall along the entire U.S.–Mexican border is splitting border communities and indigenous nations alike, including
the Tohono O'odham," Ms. Rivas said during a press conference.

The Tohono O'odham Reservation, whose 24,000 members live on 2.8 million acres on both sides of the Arizona border south of Tucson, is comparable in size
to the state of Connecticut. It said the proposed border fence would "destroy the Tohono O'odham way of life, its traditions and religious practices,"
along with the "many rights sworn to the O'odham people that are being violated."

"This wall and the construction of this wall has destroyed our communities, our burial sites and ancient O'odham routes throughout our lands," Ms. Rivas
said. "The entire international border has divided and displaced our people.

Associated Press After peering into the U.S. from atop the U.S.-Mexico border fence, a man returns to the Mexican side in Tijuana, Mexico. But Indian tribes
are calling for a halt to building the fence, arguing it will destroy their traditions and religious practices.

"The wall also is severely affecting the animals. We now see mountain lions going into areas where people live because of the wall," she said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said his goal is to have actual fencing along 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and barriers that would
allow foot traffic but prevent vehicles on another 300 miles before the end of President Bush's term, which ends in January. Mr. Chertoff has waived dozens
of federal laws and regulations to build the fence.

But Tohono O'odham elders and traditionalists maintain their legacy through oral history, conducting natural ceremonies that include offerings to the land
and sea. They also use many of the region's plants and environmental resources as a source of food and medicine. Many of these sacred ceremonies take place
in Mexico.

Ms. Rivas said the right of the Tohono O'odham people to travel freely and safely over traditional routes in their territory had been guaranteed under U.S.,
Mexican and International Law. She said the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 acknowledges the rights of the O'odham people that the fence
violates.

"By restricting the mobility of the O'odham people, the wall prevents the free practice of their religion and their cultural traditions. Further, rights
granted by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples, and the American Declaration
of the Rights and Duties of Man are also being ignored due to a waiver issued by the Department of Homeland Security," she said.

"Under this document, the president claims the power to waive any and all environmental and federal Indian laws in order to build the wall in the name of
national security," she said.

Ms. Rivas also said the construction has increased the military presence within the O'odham territory, further affecting their lives and communities.

"This wall has militarized our entire lands," she said. "We, as original people, are now required to answer to
United States
armed forces as to our nationality on our own lands."

Ms. Rivas said that once she was asked at gunpoint to produce identification to establish her right to be on the lands where she was born and where her
ancestors lived since before Columbus arrived.

Ms. Rivas is in Washington with members of many different indigenous nations and allies who walked from San Francisco to Washington in what was billed as
"The People's Walk" to protest the fence.

School Board Freaks Over Long Hair

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:52:14 GMT

When five-year-old Adriel Arocha ran afoul of the Needville school district, getting cut off wasn't an option for his parents
July 10, 2008

http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-07-10/news/a-native-american-family-fights-against-hair-length-rules/

Five-year-old Adriel Arocha has been mistakenly called a pretty little girl.

list of 1 items
• Five-year-old Adriel Arocha says his hair tells him how long he's been here.
Five-year-old Adriel Arocha says his hair tells him how long he's been here.
list end

Subject(s):
hair length in schools,
Needville school district,
Native American beliefs

"No, I'm a boy," Adriel told one stranger. "I have a penis."

Adriel's long, ink-black hair caused the confusion. He's never had a haircut.

His father, Kenney Arocha, is part Native American. He teaches spiritual beliefs to his son that his grandfather and uncles taught to him. Michelle Betenbaugh,
Arocha's wife and Adriel's mother, isn't Native American, but she supports raising her son as such.

"I'm an Indian," Adriel says. "How long my hair is, it tells me how long I've been here."

Currently living in Stafford, Arocha plans to move his family to Needville, a town of about 3,000 residents, 40 miles southwest of Houston. The family owns
about 50 acres in Needville, and Arocha and Betenbaugh want to turn the land into a sustainable farm, teaching Adriel where food comes from and the importance
of conservation.

"We like the idea of trying to minimize our impact," Arocha says.

Adriel's parents want to enroll him at Needville Elementary School. Betenbaugh sent an e-mail to the principal, asking about kindergarten and explaining
Adriel's long hair. The principal replied that the district doesn't allow long hair on boys.

On June 9, the family met with Curtis Rhodes, the Needville superintendent. Rhodes asked what religion upheld that Adriel could not cut his hair. The family
explained there wasn't a church or doctrine they followed, but they believe that Adriel's hair is sacred.

Arocha said that his belief is to cut his hair after life-changing events, such as mourning the death of someone he loves.

Rhodes told the family Adriel's hair would have to go.

"I've got a lot of friends that are Native-American Indians from Oklahoma, South Dakota, lot of places, some over in Louisiana in the Choctaw Nation, and
they all cut their hair," Rhodes says. "We're not going to succumb to everything and just wash away our policies and procedures."

Since the meeting, Arocha and Betenbaugh have been preparing to fight Rhodes and the school district. The family contacted the American Indian Movement,
which has offered to speak to district officials. They also contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, which is deciding whether to take the case.

The superintendent has suggested a possible solution would be to put Adriel in a classroom apart from other students with his own teacher. The district
has an alternative disciplinary school, but Adriel is too young to be assigned to that.

"In my 20 years in education, I've never had a kindergartner refuse to follow the rules of the school district," Rhodes says. "So this is uncharted territory
for us, too."

Arocha and Betenbaugh aren't budging. They plan to take Adriel to kindergarten once the school year starts, even if his teachers send him home every day.

"In my fantasy world, I would have went in, pled my case, let them meet my son, and the community I've chosen to live in would have said, 'Hey, I want to
be progressive.' Unfortunately, that isn't what happened," Arocha says. "We had one person tell us it would be easier to sell the property and move. They
didn't say it maliciously. They just said it would be easier on ourselves and our son if we moved to a more tolerant environment."

Needville promotes itself as the town "where thousands live the way millions wish they could." The slogan is painted on signs around town and posted on
the city's Chamber of Commerce Web site.

The sprawl from Houston to Sugar Land to Richmond hasn't touched the community. A couple feed supply stores and a family-owned hardware store remain downtown.
Needville celebrates its annual Harvest Festival in October.

The population has grown some in recent years, but Rhodes believes it's the town's old-fashioned values that keep Needville appealing.

"We have a lot of people tell us all the time that they move here strictly for the school system. This is just from the opposite side. [Arocha and Betenbaugh]
want to move in, yet they want to change this part to fit how they practice or what they believe in," Rhodes says. "A school district is a reflection of
the community. We've consistently been very conservatively dressed, very conservatively disciplined. It's no secret what our policy is: You'll cut your
hair to the right point. You'll tuck in your shirt. You'll have a belt."

He continues, "How can it be outdated? How many doctors, professionals, lawyers, look at your military branches, look at bankers, how many of them have
long hair? How many have beards? How many have body piercings all over their face?"

Rhodes graduated from Needville High School in 1983, when his father was superintendent in the neighboring town of Damon. His grandfather had been a superintendent
as well.

"I've never had a hair past my ears," Rhodes says. "I'm pretty much a rule follower. I'm not out to, just because there's a rule I got to try to break it.
I wasn't raised that way, I wasn't genetically put together that way. If they say do this, I'm going to do it."

"If you want to think we're backwards...no one is asking you to move to Needville and have these opinions invoked on you," Rhodes says. "All the kids I graduated with — there's a bunch of us back in Needville — we never thought we'd come back. Backwards isn't all that bad when you become the parent."

Arocha's father and mother didn't embrace their Native American heritage. By Arocha's calculations, his family descends from a southwestern Apache tribe that split for Mexico in the 1880s, in fear of being herded onto a reservation. His ancestors are mixed Spanish-Apache, and a DNA profile has confirmed this.

Arocha's family presented itself as Mexican to blend in with families in Rosenberg, where Arocha was raised.

But he remembers a grandfather and uncles who wore long hair and spoke of Apache culture. Arocha's hair grew long when he was a child. The day before kindergarten started, however, Arocha's mother took him to the barber for a buzz cut.

"I remember screaming, because I didn't understand. Then I went home, and my mom said I could go to school," Arocha says. "I don't fault her for it. It was easier for her; it was what was expected to do."

Arocha hasn't cut his hair since he met Betenbaugh about ten years ago. Today he owns a clothing company in which he designs corsets and other pieces of exotic clothing. Betenbaugh is his seamstress. They sell many of their designs to shops in the Montrose area.

A few years ago, Arocha had several surgeries to correct malformations in his brain, and he pleaded with the doctors not to shave his head. The doctors eventually agreed.

"When we found out Michelle was pregnant, it lit a fire under me," Arocha says. "I had tried assimilating, but it never quite worked."
_____________________

"To some, long hair may seem to be a trivial issue," writes Timothy Zahniser in the American Indian Law Review. "What is not trivial is a study of Big Sandy...which provides an excellent academic study of constitutional personal liberty."

Zahniser's article covers a court case from about 15 years ago, when a group of students from the Alabama and Coushatta Indian tribes sued the Big Sandy Independent School District in Polk County.

The case started when a tenth grader was instructed by the principal at Big Sandy High School to cut his hair. The student refused and was sent to in-school detention. Other male students were later placed in detention for the same reason.

Parents of the students approved of the long hair, citing religious beliefs, though most of the parents openly practiced Christianity.

The judge in the Big Sandy case ruled that "the wearing of long hair for religious reasons is protected, even though it is not a fundamental tenet of Native American religion."

"To [Native American] students, the wearing of long hair can have a religious significance and can be regarded as representative of pride in their culture and traditions. Parents have a right to encourage and supervise that pride," Zahniser writes. "The right of Native American students in public schools to wear long hair should not be infringed."

The Needville school district had a taste of lawsuit over its policies in 2004. In that case, a middle-school girl wore a T-shirt displaying the phrase, "Somebody went to HOOVER DAM, and all I got was this DAM shirt."

The first day the girl wore the shirt, the principal told her to change or go home. She had an extra shirt and changed.

But the girl wore the shirt for six consecutive days. The principal continued to tell the girl to change, and her parents took her home each day.

"We'll let her come to school as long as she can wear her T-shirt," J.R. Mercer, the girl's father, told the Fort Bend Herald-Coaster.

The family sued for $10,000 for each day the girl missed school, and wanted the school board to stop opening its meetings with prayer. The suit was eventually dismissed.

Rhodes wasn't superintendent during the T-shirt lawsuit, and he doesn't see any parallels between that case and Arocha's argument.

"As we look at it, we have an individual from Stafford who is unhappy, or doesn't agree with my decision that if their child were to come here, we would have him cut his hair. I haven't seen where religion comes into this yet," Rhodes says. "We want to be fair and nondiscriminatory, yet it has to have standardization to it. Otherwise, I'm going to come in and say, 'Well, my child doesn't believe in listening to teachers.' How bizarre can you get? You've got to have rules and order anywhere you go and anything you do."
_____________________

After Rhodes ruled that Adriel would have to cut his hair, he also said the family could appeal his decision. Rhodes sent the family appeal forms, and Arocha and Betenbaugh will present a case to the Needville school board at a meeting on July 16.
"[The school board is] pretty solid, and they're proud of the Needville heritage we have here," Rhodes says. "There's a lot of school districts that have lost their discipline and all their beliefs. Needville's pretty tight about that, they're pretty tight about the traditions they have."

Arocha and Betenbaugh expect the school board to uphold the ruling, and the next step is a lawsuit. If the American Indian Movement or the ACLU doesn't provide lawyers, Betenbaugh says the family will hire its own.

"I don't want this to go to trial; I don't want them to have to waste their money to defend this," Arocha says. "They had an individual burn down part of their high school last year. I would much rather them spend their money fixing the high school than having to hire a lawyer to defend something that's constitutionally protected."

When the family started dealing with the school disrict, Betenbaugh launched a blog, thestitchwitch.wordpress.com. Rhodes says the Web site has passed through Needville like hot fire.

"There's been some statements thrown by the family about bashing Needville," he says. "I've heard about it at the feed store and downtown at the restaurants. Needville is going to stand tight and unified. We're still going to be Needville."

Arocha says that when this started, he explained the problem to Adriel. And he believes that his son understands.

"I don't want to cut my hair, so we're having an argument," Adriel says. "I want to go to school. I don't know how to read. I've never gone to daycare, so I really want to go."

Arocha and Betenbaugh bought the land in Needville in October. Neither expected such a problem, but now that one exists, Arocha believes the issue has become bigger than him or Adriel.

"The Native American Freedom of Religion Act was passed in 1978. I was three. I was three when my people were finally given the ability to express their religious beliefs," he says. "Here we are, 30 years later, and they want me to give it back. I don't feel like I can waver on this."

paul.knight@houstonpress.com

This makes me sick.

Longest Walk

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:55:04 GMT

Here is another Longest Walk video. It has no words but has Dennis Banks singing in the background.

Another Longest Walk Video

Longest Walk

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:15:51 GMT

As the Longest Walk makes its way to D.C. with its walk into the capital tomorrow, here is its latest video.
Latest Longest Walk Video
Not sure who put it together, but it is a series of comments from walkers including organizers Jimbo Simons and Dennis Banks, and Starts with Dennis singing.

Decolonizing the Mind

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:00:55 GMT

A couple days ago one of my friends was telling me about a book she recently read called "Pinay Power," which is about the Filipina experience. Since she's read it, she's been on a mission to decolonize herself, such as recognizing and correcting prejudices she has against herself and other Filipinos/as and taking her mother's maiden name.

Well, it really got me thinking. Over the past year, I've come to realize what a colonized person I am (in addition to my parents and grandparents, but to a lesser degree with the latter), especially since I grew up in white, republican, christian suburbs. Up until a couple years ago, I was incredibly embarrassed about identifying myself as Navajo and, after several incidents with white schoolmates, ignored it and marginalized that part of myself. Now, years later, I'm kicking myself in the ass for allowing that to happen and am struggling to correct it (I'm taking a Navajo language course at my university and had a couple of indigenous literature courses).

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any NON-fiction reading recommendations that deals with decolonization, empowerment and addressing issues, particularly about indigenous women? There are over five hundred books about this listed on Amazon, but I have no idea how to sort through the good and bad, so I'd rather get personal recommendations. I've started talking with my parents and grandparents about all this, but would like some scholarly input as well (yours is welcome too :).

Ahehee'!

Problems with Peyote

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:54:45 GMT

Peyote Dealer

July 6, 2008 -

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/peyote_30033___article.html/morales_cactus.html

http://images.onset.freedom.com/vmstar/medium/k3kjik-peyote.jpg

Kirsten Luce/The Monitor

Mauro Morales sells peyote from his backyard in Rio Grande City. Morales is one of only three people in the United States who are legally allowed to sell
the hallucinogenic cactus.

mailto:

RIO GRANDE CITY - A sign in front of Mauro Morales' home announces his business for everyone to see.

"Peyote Dealer," it proclaims in large block letters.

Each day, drivers passing by slow down for double takes and some even pull over, get out and snap photos.

Who can blame them?, Morales asks with a mischievous grin.

He is, after all, part of a dwindling fraternity.

The slight, 65-year-old Rio Grande City man is one of only three people in the United States - all in Starr and Webb counties - authorized to harvest and
sell the psychedelic cactus.

But as overharvesting continues to threaten peyote's growth range in Starr County, he may not have much of a business for long - and Native Americans may
lose their access to a substance that drives their religion.

"It used to be you'd go out for a couple of hours and you'd find 500 to 1,000 plants," he said. "Now, you go out for six hours and you don't come back
with much."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists peyote as a Schedule I controlled substance, putting it in the same legal category as crack and heroin.

The mescaline that each cactus - or button - produces can induce vivid hallucinations that last for days.

But for 250,000 members of the Native American Church the plant is sacred. Calling it "the flesh of God," they believe the green bulbs contain medicinal
properties.

Federal law authorizes limited use for church members only.

The problem for most tribes, however, is that peyote only grows naturally in four counties in the United States - all in South Texas and all miles away
from the nearest reservation.

So peyoteros like Morales must fill the gaps, though under close watch.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the DEA keep strict tabs on his work, authorizing sales to Native Americans but prohibiting him from ingesting
it himself.

A diminutive man with a wily grin, Morales first got his start in the peyote business in the 1960s.

Tough economic times drove him to any work he could get, and at the time that meant following his family to the peyote fields of Mirando City, a small
town just east of Laredo.

Back then, more than 25 authorized dealers roamed the gardens there. Most enjoyed open access to hunt for buttons on the relatively worthless private lands
that surrounded the city.

In the years since, however, South Texas property owners have realized there is profit in leasing their land as oil or hunting preserves. Suddenly, the
small pittances peyoteros could pay for access didn't seem worth it.

"Now, it's getting to where the ranchers don't want to give permission for us to look on their land," he said. "You have to keep going back to the same
patches and waiting for it to grow again."

This presents a conundrum. If Morales and his colleagues keep revisiting the same patches, the cactus doesn't have enough time to re-grow.

Repeated overharvesting also affects the potency of the plant, said Martin Terry, an assistant professor of biology at Sul Ross University in Alpine.

"If the demand continues to increase - even slowly - and the supply continues to decrease, then the amount available to the church will just keep continuing
to decrease," he said.

Terry, one of the nation's leading experts on peyote conservation, has tracked the decline in available peyote over the past decade.

While he maintains that the species itself is not endangered, populations accessible to peyoteros and their customers have dwindled dramatically.

Peyote sales - measured in buttons sold - have dipped from 2.3 million buttons a decade ago to 1.6 million last year, according to state statistics.

"If you look at the amount of money they've made, the numbers have kept going up," Terry said. "They are charging more for a more limited supply."

But while Morales and Mirando City-based peyote dealer Salvador Johnson expressed concern over the decline, their customers don't seem to fear a thing.

"They believe the dealers don't decide when to harvest and how much to harvest," Johnson said. "God decides when, where and how much."

Johnson, a tanned, 62-year-old with a neatly trimmed white mustache, may know more about his product than anyone else in the country.

While Morales prefers to let his customers figure out how to use the cactus, Johnson - a staunch Southern Baptist - undertook his own quest to figure out
what he was selling and why.

As federal laws made peyote use illegal for all but a few Americans in the 1970s, and landowners began to take a dim view of those hoping to scour their
property for the elusive plants, he started to ask questions.

"I needed to find out for myself what this is all about," he said. "That's when I went up north and started taking the sacrament."

Over the next several years, he visited nearly every Native American group that uses peyote in its ceremonies. He consumed the cactus dozens of times.
The experience wasn't as easily euphoric as one might expect, he said.

"The peyote ain't going to do anything. It's what you expect from it," he said. "The belief that you put into something mentally - that's what makes you
trip."

That same faith in the cactus' spiritual properties is what makes his customers believe it will always grow.

"Their belief is that there will always be peyote," he said. "Mother Nature put it there, so it will always be there."

Terry is convinced a more pragmatic approach is necessary, though.

Indian Church members must plan now to meet their growing demand for the cactus, he said.

Looking for good information on the Dakota

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:17:29 GMT

Hi everyone. Please excuse the intrusion of yet another white girl looking to explore her lost heritage. :-/ Anyway, part of my ancestry a few generations back is Santee (Dakota Sioux) from Minnesota and I would like to learn more about this piece of myself, but am having trouble finding reputable information. Most of what I find out there on the Sioux is focused on the Lakota and a lot of that looks really questionable. So is anyone aware of good sources on Dakota history, culture, language, religion? I am well aware that I cannot develop a true understanding of any culture through books and that it ultimately requires interacting with people who have maintained their culture and live it every day, but I figure reading about it is a start.

Thanks so much!

Canada, Not as Wonderful as Canadians Think

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:16:45 GMT

This was in my in box this morning.

[June 17, 2008 -- Reported by members of No One Is Illegal-Montreal who attendedKatenies' court hearing in Cornwall on June 16, 2008; please post andforward
widely.]

This past Saturday, June 14, 2008, around 2:30pm, a vehicle with two outspoken Kanion'ke:haka (Mohawk) activists, writers and grandmothers was stopped
at Akwesasne while crossing into 'Canada' from the 'USA'. Akwesasne is a Kanion'ke:haka Indigenous community that includes parts of so-called Ontario,
Quebec and New York, and community members routinely cross between 'states' and 'provinces'.

Katenies lives in Akwesasne, with her mother and near her daughter and three grandchildren, who reside on both sides of the 'border'. Kahentinehta, also
a grandmother, is from Kahnawake. Katenies and Kahentinehta publish Mohawk Nation News (
www.mohawknationnews.com
) and were delegates to the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit in San Xavier, Tohono O'odham Nation (Arizona) in November 2007.

Katenies was targeted for arrest by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) guards on an outstanding warrant for allegedly 'running the border' in 2003,
and offenses resulting from her refusal to appear in court and validate the colonial justice system. Katenies has maintained since 2003 that border officials
and the Canadian colonial courts have no jurisdiction over Kanion'ke:haka people or land.
[Background information to Katenies' struggle against border and court officials is linked at:
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/background-katenies-defies-colonial-us.html ]
This past Saturday, Katenies reiterated that she does not recognize the authority of the CBSA over Kanion'ke:haka land, as she has always done. She was
then brutally arrested, with at least four male guards forcing her face down onto the ground, handcuffing her, and taking her into custody, where she remained
for three days.

CBSA guards then demanded that Kahentinehta, 68, leave the car she was driving. She refused, and she too was brutally overpowered by at least four male
CBSA guards and handcuffed tightly. Kahentinehta suffered a heart attack while handcuffed. However, due to the timely intervention of her brother – a local
lawyer who was crossing the border at that time -- she was eventually taken to the local hospital in Cornwall, Ontario by ambulance, where she has spent
the last three days in the Critical Care Unit. Her condition is stable and she will be transferred to a hospital in Ottawa for further treatment and possible
surgery.
The CBSA had originally indicated that they would charge Kahentinehta with various offenses, but those charges were never brought forward, most likely
to help cover-up the brutal way in which she and Katenies were arrested in the first place.
Meanwhile, Katenies was jailed after her brutal arrest, and was only able to have a bail hearing, at the Superior Court in Cornwall this past Monday (June
16, 2008).

Supporters from Six Nations, Sharbot Lake as well as Akwesasne attended court to be witnesses to Katenies' continued defiance of Canada's colonial courts.
Several of the elders from the Akwesasne community referenced the bridge blockades undertaken in the 1960s and 70s to assert free movement of Indigenous
peoples at the border. They consider Katenies' current stance as part of the same ongoing and long-term struggle for sovereignty.
At the hearing, the federal Crown lawyer objected to Katenies' release on bail. A senior investigator with the CBSA who seems to have launched a vendetta
against Katenies since 2003, testified for the Crown. He outlined the various warrants and court dates in the case, and Katenies' continual and consistent
refusal to recognize the authority of the colonial court system, or the jurisdiction of the CBSA over the border.
In the words of the CBSA investigator, Katenies 'has nothing but contempt for the Canadian judicial system.' The investigator, who has lived and worked
at the Cornwall border crossing for two decades, was forced to admit that it's 'not uncommon' for Mohawks to cite the lack of jurisdiction directly to
border officials, although he called Katenies 'an extreme case.'
Both Katenies and her mother, Nancy Davis, addressed the court. Nancy Davis refused to tell the court whether she lived in the 'Ontario' or 'Quebec' part
of Akwesasne, stating clearly that she 'lives on Kanion'ke:haka territory' and is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She remarked with a smile:
'I'm the only one who has authority over my daughter.'
Under cross-examination by the Crown lawyer, Nancy Davis stated: 'We feel we have the right to travel where we want, to go where we want. [The border]
is an imaginary line for Americans and Canadians, not Mohawks.'
Asked outright if she recognized the authority of the court, Nancy Davis replied simply: 'No.'

Katenies also addressed the court, while reiterating from the start that she did not recognize its jurisdiction, and pointedly refused to accept all charges,
declining to have them read to her. When the court clerk tried to swear her in, Katenies stated: 'I can only tell what I know.'

Katenies emphasized that she continues to demand that the courts address the jurisdiction question; that is, under what authority can colonial Canadian
courts, agencies or officials claim to have jurisdiction over sovereign Mohawks. She stated forcefully: 'I'm a passionate person, I'm a mother and I'm
a grandmother. But, I've had no respect. No one has looked at what I've put forward.'

Katenies already served the court with a Motion to Dismiss, and invoked the jurisdiction question, back on January 18, 2007, almost one-and-a-half years
ago. Her complete motion is linked here:
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/katenies-serves-court-with-jurisdiction.html
Under cross-examination, Katenies was asked by the Crown lawyer if she would accept paying a cash bond; she replied: 'That would be extortion at this point
because jurisdiction has not been dealt with.' She added: 'I don't see why you should incarcerate me and beat me into submission without answering my question.'
She threw the accusation of contempt back at the Crown, stating: 'It is [your law] and your constitution that you keep talking about. Why do you continue
to ignore me and our people, who have our own land and constitution?'
In his final submissions, the Crown argued that Katenies 'has nothing but complete disdain for the laws of these courts.' He also made the somewhat obvious
point: 'Quite frankly, your worship, both mother and daughter don't recognize our jurisdiction.'
He asked the court to keep Katenies in custody, adding: 'She's not interested in appearing in court and she doesn't recognize us.'
Nonetheless, the presiding Justice-of-the-Peace, Ms. Leblanc, decided to release Katenies under some basic conditions: that Katenies reside with her mother
and notify the Akwesasne police of any change of address (Katenies has lived with her mother for the past 8 years, since the passing of her father): that
her mother post a surety (ie. a $1000 bond without any deposit); and that Katenies appear in court or designate counsel to appear in court for her. Her
next court date was set for July 14, 2008 at 9am at Cornwall's Superior Court.
Both Kahentinehta and Katenies, despite the brutal attack on them by CBSA officials, maintain their defiance and vow to continue to challenge the jurisdiction
of the courts and border officials.
-- reported by Nazila & Jaggi, members of No One Is Illegal-Montreal

Sharon Green
Owner and Editor
Gathering Place First Nations Canadian News
" http://gatheringplacefirstnationscanews.ca/"

News Flash! Tornado Hits Yankton Hog Farm!

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:03:15 GMT

I am cracking up! These people should not have tried to build this hog farm where the tribe didn't want it. They should have listened to the protestors and the elders. Now look what has happened. Creator is good!

Tornado damages hog farm
Posted: June 13, 2008

by:
Stephanie Woodard

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417493

A tornado struck a large-scale hog farm that an Iowa investment group is constructing on the Yankton Sioux reservation,
despite opposition from tribal members and a tribal court exclusion order.
Yankton Sioux prophecy fulfilled

MARTY, S.D. - Yankton Sioux tribal members credited divine intercession for a tornado that struck a large-scale hog farm that's being constructed on the
reservation in defiance of a tribal court exclusion order.

The storm, which hit the building site June 5 at about 5:30 p.m., tore out a fence, downed electrical poles and wiring, scattered 4-foot-long concrete
blocks and demolished small construction-related buildings, among other damage.

''The tornado was a sign for the builders to stop,'' said Izzy Zephier, an Ihanktowan Dakota elder who is widely known for his prophesies. ''On the second
day of construction, the Grandfathers spoke to us in a

ceremony and told us that a wind would blow away the farm.''

Faith Spotted Eagle, Ihanktowan Dakota cultural resources expert and therapist, agreed with Zephier, calling the storm a warning that must be heeded.

''This sort of thing has happened before. A few years ago, when the state of South Dakota was constructing a comfort station over an ancient burial ground
at North Point, a recreation area near here on the Missouri River, we told them to stop. They ignored us, and that very night, a thunderstorm hit the building,
causing it to implode. Nothing else was damaged.''

In addition to the prophecy Zephier described, there were reports of tribal members dreaming of storms. ''We are praying, and we have faith that the Creator
will take care of us,'' he said.

The cement foundations of the factory farm, also called a contained animal feeding operation or CAFO, are going in on a hilltop site. From the top of the
rise, verdant rolling hills extend to the horizon, encompassing small farms and ranches, groves of pine and cedar and, four miles away, the tribe's main
village, with its tribal hall, schools, college, cathedral, homes and more.

Lyndon Moss, one of 11 Iowa farmers who invested in the operation, said that the group would rebuild the tornado-damaged facility, which is intended to
produce 70,000 piglets annually. These would be ''finished,'' that is, fattened to a weight of about 250 pounds, in barns on each of the investors' own
Iowa farms, according to Moss.

''The superstructure wasn't up, so not much damage was done by the storm,'' Moss noted. He added that tribal members were ignoring benefits of the CAFO,
which would produce an estimated 15 jobs.

Zephier was unconcerned by the reconstruction plans. ''The farm's owners can keep on building, but the next wind will be stronger, and whatever they do
will be blown away again. When all is said and done, the farm will be gone, and they will lose out. They don't realize they're up against our prayers,
which are not just for us, but for all future people, too.''

Tribal members have also been unimpressed by the CAFO's employment opportunities, which are not only minimal in number but also typically involve exposure
to dangerous, even deadly, contaminants, according to the tribe's newspaper, Sioux Messenger.

Several legal confrontations are under way. Fearful of the effect on children's health of pollutants emitted by CAFOs, a group of tribal members with youngsters
at the Head Start just two miles from the farm have filed a federal court suit against Long View Farms, which owns the venture.

For its part, Long View Farms has also gone to federal court, claiming the tribe has no jurisdiction over the company even when it is on tribal property.
In this situation, that occurs when Long View's trucks and workers use the tribal road, BIA Route 29, which provides access to the building site.

In April, BIA Route 29 was the scene of civil disobedience by tribal members and others who blocked construction equipment; about 30 tribal members, including
minors as young as 16, were ticketed or arrested by state and county officers - a seemingly illegal action, given that they do not have jurisdiction on
tribal land. The cases will be adjudicated Sept. 16, according to a spokesman for the Charles Mix County Clerk of Court.

Tribal members' outlook is positive, Zephier stressed.

''I want everyone out there to know that we're not depressed; we're not worried. We are grateful for the help people and organizations are giving us to
get rid of the farm. We know that all those things - laws and so on - have to be dealt with. But from our side, we pray and know that God sees what we're
facing. Our connection to the Creator is solid.''

Longest Walk Encounters Police in Columbus

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:46:28 GMT

Perhaps the spirit of Christopher Columbus is alive and well in Columbus Ohio. This is sick.

http://www.sfbayview.com/200806131424/News/Web_Exclusives/Columbus_police_first_to_insult_Longest_Walkers.html

PDF
Print
E-mail
by Lynn Crevling
Friday, 13 June 2008

Image

Now 2,400 miles from their starting point in San Francisco, walkers on the Northern Route of The Longest Walk 2 march along an Ohio road shortly before
they were attacked by police in Columbus June 2.

Columbus, Ohio, has once again distinguished itself. After walking more than 2,400 miles from San Francisco since February, a group of men, women and children
experienced their first police problem on their journey in Columbus.

The Longest Walk is a group of about 40 mostly Native American people who are walking to Washington, D.C., for the Seventh Generation for youth, peace,
justice, the healing of Mother Earth, heart conditions, alcoholism, drug addiction and other diseases.

It is a spiritual walk, a historical walk and a walk for educational awareness for the American and world communities about the concerns of the American
Indian People. And, as they go, they are picking up trash.

On Monday, June 2, as this peaceful group walked in the parking lane and on the sidewalk on the west side of Columbus on Main Street, eight police cars
zoomed up, one blocking their way.

A police officer came up to a van that follows the walkers and reached into the window and grabbed and yanked the steering wheel. He yelled at the young
woman who was driving a carload of young children and threatened, "Your children will be taken away and given to Children's Services!"

As the children began to cry, their mothers, who were walking, came to see what was wrong and to comfort them.

A walker charged with security came up and was grabbed, kneed, thrown to the ground and handcuffed. A police officer pointed a taser gun at the head of
a walker who was also an attorney as he spoke to the police.

A grandmother spoke softly to an officer asking what the concern was and trying to calm a situation that was becoming increasingly frightening. She pointed
out, "We are like your mothers, your sisters, your children."

Ultimately the walkers were allowed to continue, but they were badly shaken by this unprovoked and frightening experience.

The walkers have walked though snow, extreme rain and the blazing sun. They are often tired, hungry, thirsty and sore. They will continue through Ohio on
Route 40 to their destination of Washington, D.C., expecting to arrive next month.

As a resident of Columbus, I hope our leaders will ask questions about our Columbus welcome to these peaceful people who were picking up our trash as they
walked for health, justice and the environment.

If you are embarrassed for our city by this police harassment, as I am, consider sending a message of support and a donation if you are able to the Longest
Walk at their website at
www.longestwalk.org.

Longest Walkers Challenge Police Cheif
by Morning Star Gali

Image

A young generation that had not even been born when The Longest Walk first made history 30 years ago leads The Longest Walk 2 along with the elders they
revere, all determined to defend and preserve Indigenous peoples and cultures. Follow their travels and support their cause at www.longestwalk.org.

On Monday, June 2, after trekking over 2,400 miles on foot, participants on the Northern Route of The Longest Walk 2 were violently attacked by Columbus,
Ohio, police as men, women and children walked through the town carrying sacred prayer staffs and the message "All Life is Sacred." Without communicating
with the Ohio Department of Transportation, which was notified that The Longest Walk would be passing through Columbus, city police in eight squad cars
swiftly and forcefully arrived with arrest wagons and began assaulting the peaceful walkers.

The walkers have endured the natural elements, walking through the snow, extreme rain, straight-line winds, blazing heat, lightning storms and near misses
by tornadoes. Often tired, hungry, thirsty and sore, they have been peacefully accepted into Native and non-Native communities, and this is the first experience
of extreme police harassment they have been faced with.

The Longest Walk 2 is a spiritual walk for cultural survival and is comprised of men, women and children from Native and non-Native communities, including
Nipponzan Myohoji Japanese Buddhist monks and nuns.

The five-month long transcontinental journey on foot from San Francisco will arrive in Washington, D.C., on July 11, bringing attention to issues of environmental
injustice, protection of sacred sites, cultural survival, youth empowerment and eroding Native American rights.

Walking two routes, Northern and Southern, covering more than 8,000 miles in total, the walkers will converge on Washington, where a three day cultural
survival summit will be held beginning July 11. The Longest Walk 2 also marks the 30th anniversary of the original Longest Walk of 1978 that resulted in
historic changes for Native Americans.

Harassment by Ohio police continued the following day during a press conference Tuesday, June 3, when police ordered Longest Walk drummers off the steps
of the Ohio Statehouse.

The Longest Walkers peacefully continued with their press conference and aired statements shaming the police for their cowardly actions. Since the prayer
walk started at Alcatraz Island on Feb. 11, six states have issued proclamations in support of The Longest Walk, acknowledging the message of "All Life
is Sacred" and encouraging citizens to join walkers in their efforts to "Protect Mother Earth."

In a letter addressed to the Columbus Chief of Police, Longest Walk supporter Pennie Opal Plant (Cherokee, Choctaw, Yaqui) stated, "I am appalled by what
is being reported. When did it become an issue for people to simply walk? Why were your officers so threatening? Why did they use such extreme force and
fear tactics on a group of unarmed peaceful walkers?"

Opal Plant challenged Chief Jackson to make amends to the walkers and challenged him to support the walkers: "Why did they threaten to take the children
to Child Protection Services? These are unacceptable behaviors for any police officers in any department in the United States.

"I urge you to do the right thing here. We are living in uncertain times and acts of compassion and kindness are needed for us all to make our way through
these times with grace. You can do something good here that makes up for the officers that intimidated defenseless nonviolent people in your city."

Longest Walk 2 is part of many communities' ongoing commitment to protect sacred sites, preserve traditional culture and create awareness about the environment.
People from all over the world are joining the walk with its peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend human rights.

The Longest Walk is an Indigenous Peoples' walk and is open to people of all nations and cultures. Everyone is invited to join in and participate in the
walk at any point in time on either route, for any length of the route. For more information, visit
www.longestwalk.org
and
www.earthcycles.net.

Morning Star Gali can be reached at mstargali gmail.com.

__._,_.___

Walk for the Water

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:53:47 GMT

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42790

Robertjohn Knapp leads a 10-day journey in support of the Chattahoochee River.
LAKE LANIER ISLANDS, Jun 13 (IPS) - Native Americans and others completed a 10-day "Walk for the Water" this week along the Chattahoochee River, which
some estimates say will dry up completely by 2025 due to pressure from the rapidly growing city of Atlanta.

"We have a problem with water," Gary Fourstar, of Assiniboine and Ohlone lineage and one of the event founders, told IPS. "States are fighting over rights.
Water has become like everything else: a commodity rather than being given to us freely by the creator and used as it was meant to be. It is being used
for commercial purposes.. It becomes a resource, and like all resources is to be used up rather than taken care of."

The journey is part of a movement conceived of by Robertjohn Knapp, of Talabalaba Sioux lineage, in 1988 to raise awareness of humanity to care for the
environment. Mohawk, Shoshone, Dine, Cherokee, Creek, and about 15 other tribes were also represented.

"We no longer give thanks for anything," Knapp said. "This is what this is about... Wacaires (wah-kah-res) is a word that we have created to mean doing
something to show you care individually or in a group... Love is caring for something. To love the Earth you have to care for it."

The Chattahoochee River begins in the mountains of northeast Georgia, running southwest past Atlanta and through its suburbs, then down into Florida.

Atlanta uses and dumps about 450 to 500 million gallons of wastewater in the Chattahoochee each day, according to Cynthia Barnett, author of "Mirage: Florida
and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.". However, instead of seeking sustainable water management policies, the governors of Alabama, Georgia, and
Florida are continuing a 30-plus-year fight over water rights to the Chattahoochee.

"Traditional people, Native Americans and others who have followed the traditional ways, are attuned to the natural world and know we have to respect,
honour, and take care of the natural world. And the perspective permeates the life of Native Americans. They're trying to bring to light and build a bridge
to people other than Native Americans. It's a have-to," said Debora Fourstar, wife of Gary Fourstar.

The walk began in north Georgia on Jun. 1 at the source of the Chattahoochee River in the town of Unicoi. The walkers continued down the headwaters of
the Chattahoochee to Lake Lanier Island, and then on to the Georgia Capitol building in downtown Atlanta.

On Monday, closing ceremonies were held followed by a presentation by Dr. Masaru Emoto entitled "Message from the Water," at the Georgia World Congress
Centre.

Dr. Emoto and his work on water crystal formations were featured in the independent film "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" Emoto recently had a New York Times
bestselling book, "The Hidden Messages in Water".

He discussed the way in which frozen water crystals seem to respond with pleasant formations to beautiful music; speeches by famous humanists such as Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.; and exposure to pictures and encouraging words written on containers.

He claims they form unattractive formations in response to unpleasant words.

Despite the criticism and leery reaction to Dr. Emoto's findings within the scientific community, there is a strong moral imperative that resonates with
people of many faiths as well as secular pragmatists. His belief that God is expressed in water, which has a life of its own, is a component of both Shinto
belief and the beliefs of aboriginal peoples.

"Beautiful thoughts can transform things so they become beautiful," says Dr. Emoto.

The belief that water is a gift, which must be respected and loved, has particular relevance when the world is faced with a looming water crisis.

"So we are here to talk to the water, we are here to say we are going to take care of it, we are here to say thank you to the water, to the creator. Water
is alive, it hears our words, and responds to our speaking, to our thoughts, and to our words. The creator made nothing dead. We cannot separate ourselves
from living things. We are all part of the same world," Gary Fourstar said.

"There are three aspects of love," Knapp said. Love, he explained, was not a feeling but an agreement that you will care for something.

"First there is recognition that we are going to care for the water. Then respect for the water by caring for it. Finally it involves taking responsibility
and not blaming others," Knapp said.

"There is a forgiveness that I think we have to ask for," Gary Fourstar added. "If you do something wrong, then you ask for forgiveness. If you don't ask
for forgiveness, then you are doomed to perpetuate the action because you are in denial that it ever took place. If we continue to pollute the water, then
we are doomed to repeat it. And we are repeating it -- and the water is dying."

In an opinion piece published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week, Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper conservation
group, noted that "Local governments in metro Atlanta welcome and approve new developments on a daily basis, with little certainty that water will be available
for newcomers in the decades to come. There is talk about water conservation, but no funded incentives and mandates from state leaders. In fact, the only
new conservation measure passed in the 2008 legislative session was a three-day sales-tax holiday on water-efficient appliances."

But some lawmakers appear to be taking heed. At the beginning of April, the Georgia State Senate adopted a resolution commending the Many Horses Foundation
for organising the walk.

"There are a lot of humans running around the Earth but very few human beings. You have to work to become a human being to take care of life. So we are
here to take care of life and become human beings," Gary Fourstar said.

interview with activists

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:56:13 GMT

Hello! I'm interested about your nations, your languages and cultures. I belong to the finno-ugric organization in Russia. We are very interested about the way you preserve and develop your identity and culture. I would like to obtain an interview with someone who works in the field of preserving and developing of your identity, culture and the way of life
I am much obliged to you

Statement by Quebec Native Women’s Association/Femmes Autochtones du Québec

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:02:18 GMT

And while we may recognize the Government’s admission of guilt, the fact remains that many obstacles must be removed in order to give meaning to the spirit and intent of their apology.

Statement by Quebec Native Women’s Association/Femmes Autochtones du Québec
Re: Government of Canada’s Residential School Apology
June 11, 2008

Quebec Native Women recognizes the Prime Minister’s official apology concerning the genocidal experience of Aboriginal people in the history of the Residential School system. While the apology to Aboriginal peoples is long overdue it is contradicted by the oppressive policies of the Indian Act.

The heinous crimes committed against Aboriginal children who were victims and survivors of the Residential School experience must be dealt with beyond mere apologies and monetary compensation.

The damages to our languages, well-being, social and political structures, and sexuality caused by Residential School, demands attention. The policy of assimilation through the Residential Schools system constituted a war against an identifiable group of people.

And while we commend the Canadian Government on the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission we cannot ignore the Auditor General’s recent report substantiating that budgets for child welfare agencies in Canada continue to focus the majority of their efforts on the placement of Aboriginal children outside their communities and Nations. This type of practice is reminiscent of the Residential School policy.

Consequently, the Canadian Government must acknowledge that Residential School was an act of genocide; a crime against humanity. Apologies may be recognized but they are not necessarily accompanied by forgiveness as no nation or groups have ever been forgiven for their acts of genocide.

In order for this apology to be considered genuine, more efforts must be undertaken to correct current oppressive measures under the Indian Act that prevent Indigenous peoples from prospering socially, culturally, politically and economically.

The actions of the Canadian Government in opposing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples makes the apology feel hollow. Their opposition to the UNDRIP perpetuates the insidious, archaic Indian Act that continues to discriminate and deny Aboriginal nations their rights. The facts and arguments reflecting the manner in which the Canadian Government continues to undermine the rights of Indigenous peoples, can be found in Amnesty International’s 2008 Annual Report.

We therefore urge the Government of Canada to adequately fund Indigenous languages in a manner that is equivalent to the support given to the French and English languages; to adequately consult Aboriginal peoples in good faith on legislation that addresses issues such as matrimonial real property, Bill C-21, Bill C-47; Bill C-30 and to eliminate the sexual discrimination that exists under Section 6 of the Indian Act.

In order for Aboriginal communities to emerge from the negative impacts of
colonization they must have access to their lands and resources; they must have the opportunities to build strong and healthy nations by taking to task the social and economic problems whose roots are firmly based in colonization.

Canada has established itself as a rich and prosperous country at the expense and blood of Aboriginal peoples. And while we may recognize the Government’s admission of guilt, the fact remains that many obstacles must be removed in order to give meaning to the spirit and intent of their apology.

Feathers, A Never Ending Issue

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:29:58 GMT

June 06, 2008

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=295987

Story Photo
C. BIrd

LUMBERTON — A school system policy that prohibits a Robeson County student from wearing an eagle feather during his graduation is unreasonable and violates
his rights, two civil rights groups say.

The Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday sent a letter to Robeson County school officials expressing their concerns
about a policy that prevents Corey Bird from wearing two eagle feathers on his graduation gown or cap. Corey, a senior at Purnell Swett High School in
Pembroke, is scheduled to graduate June 13.

Katherine Parker, legal director with ACLU North Carolina, said the policy is bad and violates the rights of Corey and his father, Samuel Bird.

"We urge the school district to rethink its short-sighted decision," Parker said.

American Indian tribes use eagle feathers for ceremonial purposes. Corey Bird wants to wear them to honor his mother and grandfather, who are both deceased,
and for cultural and spiritual significance. The feathers were a gift from his father for graduation.

Bird, 18, is Lumbee and a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe, a federally recognized tribe in South Dakota.

Superintendent Johnny Hunt could not be reached for comment. During an interview last month, Hunt said the policy was in place to prevent disruption.

"If you start allowing things to be worn, it would set a precedent that would allow whatever group or organization to wear whatever, and it could cause
disruption during the ceremony," he said at the time.

Steve Moore, senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colo., said other schools have struggled with this issue and have understood
that permitting the wearing of the eagle feathers at graduation is not only good policy, "but the right thing to do from a human perspective."

"About the last 15 to 20 years, the vast majority of cases such as this have been resolved without the need of litigation and in favor of Native American
students," Moore said. "Hopefully this will provoke some discussion and a resolution. No one here is edging for a fight.''

NARF and the ACLU understand the purpose of the policy, but both organizations say there should be exceptions for people who deeply hold their spiritual
and religious beliefs.

"I think it is understandable that the school districts are concerned about opening the door to other kinds of things," Parker said. "But it is a different
situation when you are talking about spiritual and religious beliefs. I do think they are sort of making a mountain out of a mole hill here. There are
legitimate and legal ways of preventing this from getting out of hand, such as limiting it to sincere religiously held beliefs."

School knew in February

Corey Bird told Purnell Swett Principal Antonio Wilkins in February of his plans to wear the feathers. Wilkins told him at that time that he could not wear
them on his cap but that he could wear them on his gown, Bird said.

During a senior meeting May20, Bird was told that he could not wear the feathers because a school policy prohibits the wearing of messages, signs, markings
and ribbons on caps and gowns. Students who violate the rule can be removed from the graduation line and not allowed to walk across the stage.

Bird and his father plan to make their case before the Robeson County school board Tuesday night.

Samuel Bird said he would like to reach a resolution. "This is something that I have been planning for years," he said.

Several American Indian students have worn feathers on their graduation outfits in the past and nothing was said, Samuel Bird said.

"The only difference between those students and Corey is that he asked first," Samuel Bird said.

If the school board decides to uphold its policy, Samuel Bird said he would probably file a lawsuit the following day.

"We will let the courts decided before graduation," he said.

John Campbell, chairman of the Robeson County school board, said the system's policy is gray and should be examined.

"Some think that this might open up a Pandora's box for everybody and every cause," he said. "But I think we can set up a process to evaluate any request
that might come in for an exemption of the policy and judge each on its merits."

Campbell added, "We certainly want the community to feel like they are stakeholders and partners in the Public Schools of Robeson County. I don't see the
need to alienate any population in our school community.''

Longest Walk participants Harassed and assaulted by Columbus, OH cops.

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:16:17 GMT

Spread this around, and make sure you let the Mayor and Chief of Police know that you find the actions of their subordinates unacceptable.

Purnell Swett Senior's Right to Wear Eagle Feather at Graduation

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:28:22 GMT

i edited the sample letter a little bit cuz i'm a tiny bit more formal nowadayz.

- - - - -

Call for Action:

Support Native Student's Fight to Wear Eagle Feather's to Graduation

Updates & Corrections

NARF was just informed that Principal Antonio Wilkins of Purnell Swett High School has a new email address. Please send your emails of support for Corey Bird to the following email: 'wilkinsa.swett@robeson.k12.nc.us'.

The link to ACLU of North Carolina was incorrectly directed.
Please visit: http://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/

Again, You Can Make A Difference by Taking 4 Steps of Action:

-READ the joint press release & letter from NARF & ACLU
-WRITE a letter and/or email to Robeson County Public School officials in support of student Corey Bird's right to wear his eagle feathers to graduation
-FORWARD this email to your friends, family, co-workers & the media
-ASK them to also send letters and emails of support for Corey to Robeson County Public School Officials

- - - - -

SAMPLE LETTER:

Re: Purnell Swett Senior's Right to Wear Eagle Feather at Graduation

Dear Principal Wilkins, Superintendent Hunt and Chairman Campbell,

I am writing to express my support for Corey Bird, a Lumbee & Sisseton-Wapheton student at Purnell Swett High School in Pembroke. As you know, Corey wishes to wear eagle feathers on either his cap or gown during his upcoming graduation ceremony on Friday, June 13, 2008. There is no legitimate reason for any school in this kind of situation to object to a student who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe wearing an eagle feather, or a medicine wheel, or any other kind of symbol specific to a given tribe or native belief. Since this is a public school, then shouldn't students be allowed to have such an expression? If not, then all the other students should not be allowed to wear, anywhere on their person or gown during the graduation ceremonies, objects such as crucifixes, stars of David, an Islamic crescent, or anything else.

Public schools, in their policies and curriculum, are mandated by law to reflect the values of the community. The sad message here is that students in Robeson County are allowed to express themselves as long as they express a certain way or thinking or being approved or mandated by the school--and particularly one that, based on the school's prohibition of Corey's feather, does not embrace the ancient indigenous heritage of Corey who belongs to Pembroke just as any other student. In light of the strong religious and spiritual significance of eagle feathers in Native American culture and to Corey and his father, I strongly assuage you to reconsider your decision.

Yours truly,

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ORGANIZATION]

[CITY, STATE]