Reconnecting with our Identity, Origins and Relatedness to All Things

Good Shield Aguilar, Lakota-Yaqui Musician, Sings about Origin and Honor

Good Shield Aguilar

With all the terrible things going on around us every day, we sometimes need to be reminded of our identity, origins, connections and relatedness.   After all, it is only our world view and spirituality that distinguishes us from the wasichus (whites).  

One of the best ways to take a step back, contemplate, reflect upon and remember who we really are is through music. 

Good Shield Aguilar - Lakota-Yaqui Musician is a native singer-songwriter living in "Yurok Country" who says and does it very well, indeed.  To see a video of his performance of the following two songs, click on the YouTube link below.  Better yet, click on his name and visit his MySpace page.

From Origin Song:
I am sitting here in my place of connection, a connection that indigenous creatures have as our flesh and features are mirrored within the geography, within the soil and our relatives, those who nourish us so that we'll go on, those who teach us so we'll understand, and those who remind us so that we won't forget our origin.

From Honor Song:
Awake.  May the dream begin again from its dormant state as the great floodwaters have now parted.  Rebirth is eminence, turbulence, inevitable. Part of the way of creation and perpetual balance, chaos and beauty.  Awake now and carry the responsibilities of endlessness, messengers of timelessness.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROJ0LHkl1Zs&NR=1

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Tribal People Urge Indian Government to Take Stand Against Bangladeshi Attacks on Jumma People of Chittigong Hill Tract

Communal attack on Jummas by Military Forces and Bengali Settlers, [2/25/2010]

http://www.tiprasa.com/
A News and Information Web Portal of the Indigenous People of Tripura
By Our Correspondent, feedback@tiprasa.com

New Delhi Feb 25, 2010: All roads led to Jantar mantar today at 11 am, as several hundreds of Peace loving Indigenous people of Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh came out on the streets in New Delhi to protest against the barbaric killing and communal attacks on the thousands of Jumma Indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh.

They also submitted an memorandum to the Honourable Prime minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh to seek the interventions of the Government of India with the Government of Bangladesh against the communal attacks on the tribals in the Chittagong Hill tracts by the Bangladesh Army and the illegal plain settlers and also to bring an end to the ongoing communal violence against the tribal peoples such as Chakmas,Marmas,Tripuris-who identify themselves as Jummas for practicing Jhum/Shifting cultivation.

The Protest rally was organized by CHTs Support Group,led by Mr Suhash Chakma, Director, Asian Centre for Human Rights(ACHR) and was backed by the Tripura Students Forum,Delhi(TSFD) with maximum support and co-operation!

The unfortunate killings also raise a legitimate question as to the award of a Peace prize awarded by the Govt. of India to the PM of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina in November 09 2009, for promoting Peace by resolving a long standing insurgency(problem) in Bangladesh by concluding the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, when the Indigenous People are not enjoying any peace but only faced persecution because of their ethnicity and religion.

The Protest groups urged the Government of India to take the following measures:

1. Make a public statement expressing concern about the attacks on the tribal peoples of the CHT and take all necessary measures to bring an end to the violence with full respect for the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

2.Urge the Government of Bangladesh to fully implement the CHT peace accord.

3.Provide a package for implementation of the CHT to ensure that both the communities can live in harmony.

Its been reported that till now 10 innocent persons, Jummas have died in the state riots, One Buddhist temple, One Church, a UNDP run centre and 300-400 houses have been completely burnt down and 2000 indigenous Jummas have been internally displaced in the attacks. Most of the displaced Jumma villagers have taken shelter in to the deep forest fearing further attacks and most of these indigenous victims whose houses have been burnt down have been passing days without food and staying under the open sky in the absence of any help coming from the authorities!

It is reported that on 19 February 2010 afternoon a group Bengali settlers went to the Gangaran Duar area of Bangladesh and put pillars on the land of Indigenous Jumma villagers for construction of house there. When the Jumma villagers protested and opposed the Bengali settlers, hundreds of Bengali settlers led by leaders of so-called Sama Odhikar Andolon under full protection by a group of army from Baghaihat zone of 8 Bir Bengal gathered at Gangaram Duar area and started to set fire on the houses of Jumma villages at night.

Since then the a regular planed attack was carried out by the Bengalis with the assistance of the Military Force on the Jumma Indigenous people which left many death and homeless.
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Source: http://tiprasa.com/articles/viewcomm.asp?identity=359&title=Communal%20attack%20on%20Jummas%20by%20Military%20Forces%20and%20Bengali%20Settlers

Native Rights News is making this material from http://www.tiprasa.com/ available in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine codified at Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107: This article is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. Distribution of this material is for research and educational purposes that will promote social and economic justice and benefit society.
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Native Rights News (NRN) is published by the Alliance for Indigenous Rights, a nonprofit corporation owned and operated by Temple Beit Shem Tov as part of its Social Justice Ministry.

Scientists Say Klamath Basin Water Agreements Threaten Survival of Klamath River Salmon

Editor's Note:  This is the first in a series of posts concerning the longrunning battle for water in the Klamath Basin and the Klamath River.  Although this press release was issued in March of 2008, we are publishing it because it sets forth a scientific basis for the concerns environmental organizations and several affected Indian Tribes have regarding the so-called "agreements" that are titled the "Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement" and "Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement."  On December 14, 2009, the NEC pulled out of the settlement talks altogether, citing concerns that the proposed agreements were too weak to actually protect the Klamath River and its salmon.  For the latest news on this and other environmental issues that impact Indian tribes in northwestern California, go to NEC's ECONEWS.

The Klamath Basin ecosystem includes Upper Klamath Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake and the Klamath, Williamson, Sprague and Lost Rivers which feed and drain them.  These lakes comprise the Klamath Wildlife Refuges system, the largest and most important resting and feeding stop for millions of waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway.  Almost all of the land and water in question was a part of the aboriginal territory of the Modoc Indian Tribe until it was seized by the federal government during the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73.  The Modoc Indians, a federally recognized tribe, are currently working to secede from the political confederation known as the Klamath Tribes, set up their own separate government, and reassert tribal sovereignty over these lakes, rivers and wildlife refuges.  Their long-term goal is to restore them to their natural condition. - Perry H. Chesnut, Editor, NRN

 

News Release

NEC Rejects Klamath Agreement

Top scientists say Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement is flawed, and could prevent fish recovery, without guaranteed downstream flows

Contact: Greg King, Executive Director

Northcoast Environmental Center

707-822-6918

Science Contacts:

Dr. Bill Trush: 707-826-7794 x. 12 Dr. Thomas Hardy: 435-797-2824

Greg Kamman: 415-491-9600

March 3, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arcata, CA — The Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC) will not support the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement as it is currently written, the NEC’s Board of Directors decided in late February. The NEC, which has worked for 37 years to protect the Klamath River and its fishery, is concerned that the Agreement does not contain a guarantee of water for fish nor even a goal for fish recovery. Yet the Agreement would give farmers in the upper Klamath basin an unprecedented guaranteed allotment of water for irrigation.

The decision not to support the Restoration Agreement (also known as the Settlement Agreement) is based on scientific analyses provided by three of the West’s most respected river flow analysts, who concur that as a “plan for a plan” — even with the removal of four dams — the Agreement could result in Klamath River flows so sparse at crucial times that endangered salmon may not be able to recover from what are now critically low numbers.

“We want nothing more than to support a workable agreement that would result in decommissioning of four mainstem Klamath dams and provide fish with the water they need to avoid extinction,” Greg King, Executive Director of the Northcoast Environmental Center, said Monday. “The independent scientists we have commissioned and consulted, who are among the most respected river analysts in the west, tell us this deal won’t do that. This Agreement would lock us in to supporting water allocations for agriculture, as well as state and federal legislation, that could result in stream flows so low as to cause extinction. We can’t do that.”

The NEC is one of 26 parties to the Klamath Basin Agreement. Last year the organization contracted with hydrologist Greg Kamman, of Kamman Hydrology in San Rafael, and fisheries biologist Dr. Bill Trush, of McBain and Trush in Arcata, to analyze the scientific modeling and conclusions contained in the Restoration Agreement. In their reports (available at http://yournec.org) both scientists concluded that the Agreement could lock into place water allocations that would harm salmon.

Last week Trush completed an alternative plan for evaluating the needs of Klamath River fish prior to approval of the Restoration Agreement. That plan (attached) would have to be well under way, or completed, before the NEC will support the Basin Agreement.

In his alternative plan, Trush wrote, “The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement relegates salmon and the Klamath River ecosystem to the status of junior water users, while Upper Basin irrigators become the senior water users. This premise squarely places onto the salmon and the river ecosystem any risk inherent in the conclusion that flows contained in the Agreement will actually provide enough water for recovery of the species. Nowhere is this clearer than in the future allocation of water. … Quantitative goals for fish and the river ecosystem, conspicuously missing from the Settlement Agreement, are necessary to establish how much improvement (benefit) is required for restoration. … The NEC shouldn’t support the Settlement Agreement until these specific concerns are addressed quantitatively.”

In addition to Trush and Kamman, another river scientist, Dr. Thomas Hardy, has expressed trepidations about the Basin Agreement. Hardy is the Associate Director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University. Many consider his studies of Klamath River hydrology to be the “best available science” for evaluating the river’s fishery. Last year the National Research Council utilized much of Hardy’s work in its definitive text, Hydrology, Ecology, and Fishes of the Klamath River Basin. In February 2008 Hardy told the NEC Board of Directors that in the Restoration Agreement, “Agriculture gets all the guarantees, and everything related to the environment is left to somewhat vague processes and committees.

”Hardy said that in dry years agriculture in the upper basin will be “taking too much water from the system,” with flow models demonstrating that the river will probably go well below 1,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) in late summer and early fall. “I’m just scared to death any time the flows get below 1,000 cfs,” said Hardy. Such low flows, he said, “double the risk to the system.” Flows that resulted in the 2002 fish kill, which killed nearly 70,000 adult Chinook salmon, were between 600 and 700 cfs.Hardy said that an acceptable Agreement would “guarantee flows for fish first, then other water uses.”

In his hydrological report, Kamman said, “I am concerned that the successful implementation of the Settlement Agreement hinges on a conceptual plan which has no guarantees of being achieved within a specified amount of time – time does not appear to be on the side of Klamath River salmonids.”

Under the Agreement, water in the mainstem will be reduced from September to February, “and this reduction in flow may prove detrimental to Klamath River salmonids,” said Kamman. “These flow conditions further emphasize the imbalance in flow and likely, in turn, salmonid habitat quality between the winter and spring periods (a time of salmonid immigration and spawning).”

Kamman also reports that the flows recommended in the Basin Agreement will draw too much water from Upper Klamath Lake, part of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, one of the most important habitats in North America for migrating waterfowl. Kamman said water use projected in the Basin Agreement could result in “lower total annual lake storage than was experienced historically.”

The NEC is also concerned that Settlement parties are being asked to support the Basin Agreement without seeing a dam removal agreement from PacifiCorp, owner of the four mainstem Klamath River dams whose relicensing process was the catalyst that brought the 26 Settlement parties together nearly three years ago. The PacifiCorp deal has been marred from the start by the company’s intransigence and occasional fits of economic hubris.

“Tearing down these dams would be the best thing to happen to an American river since dams started going up in the first place,” said the NEC’s Greg King. “You’d think that in facing the best opportunity in history to save precious salmon from extinction the folks at PacifiCorp would declare a ‘no-brainer’ and just go ahead and do it.” PacifiCorp ratepayers, said King, would also save $114 million if the company tore down the dams, as opposed to building the more expensive fish ladders required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Oregon Wild

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Oregon Modocs Set Second Meeting to Discuss Benefits of Self-Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2010
Contact: Perry H. Chesnut
pchesnut@indigenous-rights.org
425-770-7345

Modocs Seeking to Form Government Separate from the Klamath Tribes Set Second Meeting:
Will Discuss Economic Development, Tribal Membership Requirements and Ancestral Land Base
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An informational meeting for Modoc Indians interested in the movement to dissolve the Modoc Tribe’s political relationship with the Klamath Tribes will be held between the hours of 6:30pm and 9:00pm on the evening of Friday, January 29, 2010 at the Commissioners Hearing Room of the Klamath County Government Center located at 305 Main St. in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Entrance to the building will be by the door coming off the rear parking lot on Pine St.

A previous meeting held in the same location on October 9th of last year drew approximately 30 Modocs. Perry Chesnut, an adopted member of the Modoc Tribe, stated that it was time to end 136 years of subservience to the Klamath Indians, and said that the only practical way to preserve the Modoc Tribe’s unique ethnic and cultural identity, and protect and advance the Modoc People’s political and economic interests is to set up their own government, separate from that of the current Klamath tribal government. He presented a document titled Declaration of the Rights of the Free and Sovereign People of the Modoc Indian Tribe (Mowatocknie Maklaksûm), which enumerates in 46 articles the natural, political and human rights of the Modoc People. Since that meeting, a number of “Declaration Bearers” have been circulating the document within the Modoc Tribe and gathering signatures for its ratification.

The upcoming meeting on Friday, January 29th, is open to all who wish to learn more about the separation movement and the opportunities it presents to the Modoc People.

M. Sean Manion, a Modoc Indian who is a civil engineer and has spent the last seven years in Iraq managing various rebuilding projects, will present an economic development model that has proven to be very successful for Arab tribes in Iraq. Mr. Manion states that the economic development model is especially well-suited to tribal entities and believes that it can be implemented successfully by the Modoc Tribe to create large tribally owned enterprises as well as smaller business ventures owned by individual tribal members. Mr. Manion will also speak to the issue of eligibility for tribal membership, contrasting the blood quantum standard now used by the Klamath tribal government with the lineal descent standard to which more tribes are now turning.

Perry Chesnut will speak about the opportunity for developing a large casino resort complex and present an architectural rendering of such a casino resort prepared by David P. Soderstrom of Soderstrom Architects, a Portland Oregon architectural firm. He will also present a map of the Modoc Tribe’s ancestral lands ceded to the government in the Lakes Treaty of 1864 and discuss the many opportunities for economic development presented by the five national forests included in these lands and by the potential restoration of the vast wetlands that constituted Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake and Clear Lake prior to the extensive “reclamation” projects of the early 1900s.

An extensive period of time has been set aside for questions and answers following the presentations of Mr. Manion and Mr. Chesnut. Declaration Signature Sheets will also be available for those who wish to ratify the Declaration with their signatures. Those who wish to circulate the Declaration can obtain a signature sheet from Mr. Chesnut after the meeting.

The Commissioners Hearing Room has a seating capacity of 70, so those wishing to sit should come early.
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Source: Modoc Land Recovery Project

Native Rights News is making this material available in accordance with a general press release. This article is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. Distribution of this material is for research and educational purposes that will promote social and economic justice and benefit society.
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Native Rights News (NRN) is published by the Alliance for Indigenous Rights, a nonprofit corporation owned and operated by Temple Beit Shem Tov as part of its Social Justice Ministry.

Human Blockade Halts Logging on Karuk Sacred Sites

Klamath Justice Coalition Halts Logging on Karuk Sacred Sites 
by Dan Bacher, Indymedia, North Coast
Wednesday Dec 16th, 2009 11:11 AM

This morning the Klamath Justice Coalition used a human blockade of 15 people to defend Karuk sacred sites from logging activities. The action took place near Orleans, CA within the Six Rivers National Forest and halted work on the Orleans Community Fuels Reduction Plan. “The OCFR is actually the Orleans Culture and Forest Reduction plan,” said Leaf Hillman, a Karuk Ceremonial Leader in Orleans. Below are the press releases from the Klamath Justice Coalition and the Karuk Tribe.
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PRESS RELEASE - Klamath Justice Coalition
For Immediate Release: December 16, 2009
For more information: Leaf Hillman, Karuk Indian 530-627-3710

ORLEANS RESIDENTS MOVE TO HALT FOREST SERVICE PLANS TO DESTROY SACRED SITES
Forest Supervisor Tyrone Kelly Breaks Promises and Federal Law

Orleans, CA – This morning the Klamath Justice Coalition used a human blockade to defend Karuk sacred sites from logging activities. The action took place near Orleans, CA within the Six Rivers National Forest and halted work on the Orleans Community Fuels Reduction Plan.

Forest Service contractors were greeted by activists before day break at Orleans Mountain Lookout Road which leads to one of the units in dispute. Crews turned back without involving law enforcement.

“This morning’s small but important victory marks the beginning of our campaign to defend Karuk sacred sites and protect the health of our forests,” said Orleans local Chook- Chook Hillman.

This logging operation was intended to be part of a larger fuels reduction program developed by the US Forest Service with community buy-in. However, in the end the Forest Service betrayed the local community once again.

According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the project, the stated Purpose and Need for the Orleans Community Fuel Reduction and Forest Health Project (OCFR) is to manage forest stands to reduce fuels accumulations and improve forest health around the community of Orleans, while enhancing cultural values associated with the Panamnik World Renewal Ceremonial District.

“The OCFR is actually the Orleans Culture and Forest Reduction plan,” said Hillman.

Originally, Forest Supervisor Tryone Kelly engaged with community members on a collaborative process to develop a fuels reduction plan that would protect sacred areas, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and protect sensitive stands of hardwoods. However, in practice it looks like another timber harvest that disregards the concerns of the community.

“We are shocked that the Forest Service thinks that it can get away with lying to our community. We want fuels reduction, but we will not accept the destruction of Karuk sacred sites or a timber sale disguised as a fuels reduction plan,” added Annelia Hillman.

This is not the first time that Kelly has shown a particular insensitivity to Tribal cultural issues. Last year he oversaw the bull dozing of a Tribal member’s that was on land disputed to be Indian Trust Land. The act not only destroyed a home, but destroyed a nearby archeological site and a contemporary dance ground.

Again during last years’ wildfires, Kelly directed the construction of firebreaks and use of heavy equipment that destroyed sections of “medicine man trails” and high country alters used during annual World Renewal Ceremonies. Representatives from the Karuk Tribe urged Kelley to build the breaks in areas that were less sensitive but the concerns with ignored. “Its like Kelly is hell bent to destroy our sacred areas one step at a time.” Said Hillman.

The Klamath Justice Coalition is not new to direct action as a tactic to force change. The group has staged direct actions in Scotland, Omaha, NE, Portland, OR, and Sacramento, CA, and Salt Lake City, Utah focused on the removal of Klamath Dams.

Who we are:

The Klamath Justice Coalition is an ad hoc group of Klamath Basin Residents from all walks of life. We are Indians, non-natives, mothers, fathers, workers, hippies, youth, and elders. Our goal is to ensure that the cultures and ecosystems of Klamath Communities are protected and enhanced.

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Karuk Tribe
P R E S S R E L E A S E
For Immediate Release: December 16, 2009
For more information:
Craig Tucker, Spokesman, Karuk Tribe, cell 916-207-8294

US FOREST SERVICE LOGGING PROJECT THREATENS SACRED SITES
Forest Supervisor Tyrone Kelley Ignores Local Community, Tribal Leaders, and his own Proposed Plan

Orleans, CA – Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor Tyrone Kelley has directed his crews to begin logging with heavy equipment in areas sacred to the Karuk Tribe in violation of his own proposed fuels reduction plan.

“We participated in good faith in the Forest Service’s collaborative process. Although we were assured that our sacred areas would be protected and our values respected and enhanced, it’s clear now that these were hollow promises. Furthermore, the actions directed by Kelly are in violation of federal law,” said Bill Tripp, Eco-cultural Resources Specialist for the Karuk Tribe.

Over the past three years, the Orleans Ranger District in the Six Rivers National Forest has held a series of stakeholder meetings allegedly designed to work with the Orleans community to develop a fuels reduction plan that both Native and non-native community members could accept. After dozens of meetings and an appeal of Kelley’s original plan, tribal members, as well as non-native local residents, thought that a consensus had been reached. However, when logging began, community members realized immediately that Kelley had reneged on his promises and violated the law by implementing a plan inconsistent with his own Environmental Impact Statement.

At issue is the insufficient analysis related to use of heavy logging equipment in areas deemed sacred by the Karuk Tribe, divergence from measures designed to protect, promote, enhance and restore stands of ecological sensitive hardwoods, failure to protect large diameter trees[c1] , and a failure to make good on a commitment for multi-party monitoring during the fuels reduction operations.

According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the project, the stated Purpose and Need for the Orleans Community Fuel Reduction and Forest Health Project (OCFR) is to manage forest stands to reduce fuels accumulations and improve forest health around the community of Orleans, while enhancing cultural values associated with the Panamnik World Renewal Ceremonial District. Current logging operations are inconsistent with the FEIS and therefore violates the National Environmental Policy act. The Forest Service also proceeded without required consultations with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO).

“The actual work on the ground will do the opposite of the stated goals. OCFR in all actuality has begun to compromise the integrity of spiritual values associated with the Panamnik World Renewal District,” said Tripp.

The areas being debated represent 914 acres to be mechanically harvested. The USFS awarded the contract to Timber Products for nearly $1 million dollars.

The Tribe is demanding that the Forest Service halt all logging operations until these issues can be resolved and sacred sites protected.

Leaf Hillman is a Karuk Ceremonial Leader in Orleans who contends that this represents the latest in a series of bad decisions by Kelley that have served to denigrate Karuk Cultural areas. According to Hillman, “Tyrone Kelley has no respect for this community or native cultures. The Tribe and local community members worked hard to develop a fuels reduction plan that meets the needs of both the community and the Forest Service. Kelley’s actions are not only an act of bad faith, they are an act of cultural genocide. We will not sit idly by while he destroys the ecological integrity of these forests and the Karuk Tribe’s sacred areas, we will defend our homeland.”
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Native Rights News (NRN) is published by the Alliance for Indigenous Rights, a nonprofit corporation owned and operated by Temple Beit Shem Tov as part of its Social Justice Ministry.