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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Copyright Native Voice TV.  Native Rights News is making this material from Native Voice TV 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.

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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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.

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.

# # #

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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© 2000–2010 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center

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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.

Save the Sacred Sites Alliance in Dire Financial Straits

Protection of Native American Graves Put at Risk for Lack of $1,800 and $100 per Month


Editor's Note:  A few days ago, I received this message from Dave Kitchen, cofounder and codirector with his wife Sharon, of Save the Sacred Sites Alliance. The core purpose and work of the Kitchens and Save the Sacred Sites Alliance is to protect Native American graves and gravesites from being disturbed or destroyed.   Following Dave's letter is my initial response.  I am including an image and both online and mailing addresses for anyone who may wish to keep this extremely important work going.

Dave Kitchen's Letter

Hi everyone,

Well we gave it our best shot. But since they have raised our taxes and the county has done something that cut Sharon's salary in half, and we tried everything to get the money, but failed, it looks like we may be off the internet and it looks like we are going to lose the farm and may have to return the animals to the local humane society.

I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been being you guys online friend.

I realize that the Creator/ God that I serve is stronger than I can ever know. But I also know that sometimes the answer to our requests is NO.

So have a good Christmas and pray for us.

Thanks,

Dave

Our Response to Dave (edited to protect the privacy of certain individuals)

Dear Dave and Sharon,

This is a heartbreaking thing to hear. You have been doing such good and important work. How much do you need to stay on the Internet? If you tell me, I will publicize it and try to raise it, but I can’t promise that it will happen. I am facing a similar situation with the work I am doing to publish the Native Rights News and to help the Modoc people reestablish their own government after 136 years of exile and subjugation to the Klamath Tribe: everyone praises it, but they just won’t part with any money to support its continuation. My wife is similar to Sharon in that she works and gives a goodly portion to keeping our website and blog on the Internet. But this year, her employer ended all quarterly bonuses and didn’t give its annual cost of living raise of about 2 percent. So here we are, living in one of the most expensive areas of the country, with less money to pay bills and buy food than before.

Just over a year ago, I was extremely privileged to be one of the very few white men ever allowed to take part in the sacred Lakota Yuwipi Ceremony. Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, the current carrier of Chief Crazy Horse’s pipe, said to the small group of us gathered in the Inipi (sweat lodge) for purification prior to the Yuwipi Ceremony:

"We do this [the Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremony] because we must learn to endure difficulties in life. When we go through this ceremony, we are reborn, and we acquire wisdom from the Creator. Some of you may make this your way of life. You may decide to dedicate your life to the Creator and to these ceremonies, but if you do, you will be changed by this, and your path will become more difficult. So you must learn to endure the heat and not leave the lodge no matter how difficult it becomes." – Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, Lakota Holy Man

It is a tragic reality that the Creator’s work is done by only a few, and in almost every circumstance He requires us to struggle mightily. We pray and wonder why the Creator won’t help, but the fact is that if He made things easier for us, we would slack off in our work to manifest His Supreme Will in this world. The Creator knows His Creation, and He makes our path more difficult in order to keep us closer to Him and His Will. I prefer that to the view that God’s motives and actions are always inscrutable, as taught by the Jewish Rabbis, based on this verse in the Torah: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; My ways are not your ways.”

We must not forget that the Creator made everything – not only good, but evil and indifference as well. The Creator is in everything, and especially in each one of us. In some of us, the impulse to do good, to make the world a better place, to seek justice is the dominant force. And we walk the good red road of righteousness, light and life. Regrettably, it seems that in this country especially, more and more people are choosing to follow the black road of darkness and death. And so, every day, our country gets closer to the edge of the abyss.

As I said, please tell me how much you need to stay on the Internet and by what deadline, and I will publicize it and we’ll see what happens. Keep hope alive. Perhaps the Creator will lead us to someone who will listen to to the still, small Voice in his or her heart and do the right thing. After all, it’s not you or me that their donation will help – it’s the indigenous people who benefit from the work we give our lives to doing.

Your steadfast friend and spiritual brother,

Yahoshua Nesher ben Yakov Leib (Reb YaNYaL)
(Two Eagles, Perry Chesnut)
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To learn more about the extremely important work that the Save Our Sacred Sites Alliance has been doing for more than thirty years, click here:  Save Our Sacred Sites Alliance

Email addresses include: savethesacredsites@gmail.com and savethesacredsites@myspace.com

If you wish to donate to Save the Sacred Sites Alliance, please mail your check or money order to:

Save The Sacred Sites Alliance
C/O Dave & Sharon Kitchen
P.O. Box 324
Townsend, Ga. 31331
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Sources: Save the Sacred Sites Alliance and Modoc Land Recovery Project

Native Rights News is making this material 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.
____________
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.

Ninth Circuit Court Blocks Open Pit Gold Mine on Sacred Mount Tenabo

For Immediate Release:
Contacts:
Larson Bill, South Fork Western Shoshone, 775-397-6726, 775-744-2537
John Hadder, Great Basin Resource Watch, 775-722-4056
Julie Cavanaugh-Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project, 775-397-1371
Roger Flynn, Western Mining Action Project, 303-823-5738


Western Shoshone Prevail at Ninth Circuit Court on Mt. Tenabo – Court Issues Ruling Enjoining Cortez Hills Open Pit Gold Mine

Court Agrees with Western Shoshone and Allies that the Interior Department’s Approval of the Mine Likely Violated Federal Law

December 3, 2009: San Francisco,CA and Crescent Valley, NV – In a major ruling, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today issued its ruling enjoining the construction and operation of the Cortez Hills gold mine, proposed by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Ninth Circuit reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, which had denied the motion for preliminary injunction filed by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case are: the South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Great Basin Resource Watch (the “Plaintiffs”). The Plaintiffs challenged the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) decision to approve the Cortez Hills Mine in November of 2008.

In overturning the District Court’s decision, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their legal arguments that BLM violated federal environmental and public land law in approving the Mine. The Ninth Circuit also found that enjoining the Mine was in the public interest due to the “irreparable environmental harm threatened by this massive project.” Among other issues, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act in failing to properly analyze the environmental impacts from the Mine on groundwater, air quality, and other resources. “Suspending a project until that consideration has occurred thus comports with the public interest.”

The Cortez Hills Mine would be one of the largest open pit cyanide heap leach gold mines in the United States. It would be located on the flank of Mount Tenabo – an area well-known for its spiritual and cultural importance to the Western Shoshone. The area is home to local Shoshone creation stories, spirit life, medicinal, food and ceremonial plants and items and continues to be used to this day by Shoshone for spiritual and cultural practices. Over the years, tens of thousands of individuals and organizations from across the United States and around the world have joined with the Shoshone and voiced their opposition to this mine. The proposed mine area has been found by the BLM, in repeated ethnographic studies, as being of extreme spiritual and cultural importance to the Western Shoshone. One report says: “Mt. Tenabo is … considered a traditional locus of power and source of life, and figures in creation stories and world renewal. As the tallest mountain in the area – the most likely to capture snow and generate water to grow piñon and nourish life – it is literally a life-giver. Water is to earth what blood is to the body, and these subterranean waterways are likened to the earth’s arteries and veins.”

The Mine is proposed by Barrick Gold Corporation, the world’s largest gold mining company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Mine would blast and excavate a new massive open pit on Mount Tenabo over 800 acres in size, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. It would include several new waste disposal and processing facilities (including a cyanide heap-leaching facility), consisting of approximately 1,577 million tons of waste rock, 53 million tons of tailings material, and 112 million tons of spent heap leach material. The Mine would include an extensive groundwater pumping system to dewater Mount Tenabo (in order to keep the open pit and mine workings dry during mining) and associated water pipelines that will transport the pumped water away from Mount Tenabo. In total, the mine would permanently destroy approximately 6,800 acres land on and around Mount Tenabo, over 90% of which is classified as federal “public” land. Despite the pending case before the Ninth Circuit appealing the District Court’s denial of the Plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction in January, 2009, Barrick decided to begin construction of the Mine. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling today orders the District Court to issue an injunction against the Mine.

“We are pleased with the Ninth Circuit’s ruling,” said Larson Bill, Tribal Council Member of the South Fork Band Council and Te-Moak Tribe. “This is a result of Western Shoshone people remaining committed to protecting our land and environment. It is unfortunate that the company decided to push this forward without addressing all concerns, especially those of the Shoshone people. Barrick operates world wide and is well-versed on these issues – they knew that an injunction was a possibility – especially where there has been continuous opposition and litigation.” continued Larson Bill.

Carrie Dann, a world renowned Western Shoshone grandmother, and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (known as the “alternative Nobel Peace Prize”) has been among those to lead the fight to protect Mount Tenabo from mining for over 15 years. “Mount Tenabo should be left alone – no further disturbance. This mine will drain the water from Mount Tenabo. They will be sucking the water out of the mountain forever. The destruction of the water is like the destruction of the blood of the earth; you are destroying life of the earth and the people and wildlife that depend on it. Dewatering is taking the life of future generations. Water is sacred, all life depends on it,” says Carrie Dann.

“None of us are opposed to mining, if it is done responsibly, however this project is as irresponsible as it gets. The BLM has a legal responsibility to protect the air, water, and ecological values of the area as well as the religious freedom of Western Shoshone, and to fully analyze the impacts of a proposed project. The Ninth Circuit correctly found that BLM failed in its legal responsibilities,” said John Hadder, Executive Director of Great Basin Resource Watch.

The Plaintiffs are being represented in court by Roger Flynn of the non-profit legal firm, the Western Mining Action Project, based on Colorado, which specializes in mining, public land, and environmental law.

For more information on the Cortez Hills Project, Mount Tenabo, and the legal challenge go to http://www.gbrw.org/ and http://www.wsdp.org/. The Ninth Circuit Decision can be downloaded at: http://www.gbrw.org/images/stories/publications/tenabo/Ninth_Circuit_injunction_ruling_12-3-09.pdf
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Source: Western Shoshone Defense Project

Native Rights News is making this material available as the result of a general press release received from the source cited above.

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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.

Congressional Apology to Native Americans Is Just Cheap Talk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2009

Apology Op-Ed
Robert T. Coulter
Executive Director, Indian Law Resource Center
www.indianlaw.org



‘No Thanks’ to Congressional Apology

This week the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing to Native Americans for the wrongs done by citizens of this country. Robert T. Coulter, Executive Director of the Indian Law Resource Center, says what happened is a failure on the part of Congress to really acknowledge what it has done in the past.

The Senate has just passed a resolution that apologizes to American Indians and other Native Americans for the wrongs done by citizens of this country. But a genuine apology means you won’t do it again, and this resolution does nothing at all to stop or correct the on-going wrongs that the federal government inflicts on Indian and Alaska Native nations. Unfortunately our government still takes Indian land without paying for it, still refuses to account for the Indian money it holds, still violates its treaties with Indian nations without making amends, and still maintains a body of policy and law that is so discriminatory and racist that it should have been discarded generations ago.

To make a real apology, Congress needs to stop doing the things that it is apologizing to Indian nations and other Native peoples for. Americans generally do not know that the federal government continues to treat tribes and Alaska Native nations this way, and the evidence is that the public does not support or condone this mistreatment.

It is astonishing to most Americans that the federal government is still taking Indian land and resources – without due process of law and without fair market compensation, sometimes with no compensation at all. Of course, the Constitution says that Congress may not take anyone’s property except with due process of law and with fair market compensation. But these rules are not applied to most land and resources owned by Indian tribes, and the government takes the land and resources at will. Obviously, this is wrong. Today, the government is trying to drive Western Shoshone Indians off their homelands in Nevada without a semblance of due process and with a payment of about 15 cents per acre. This is gold mining land, but that doesn’t make it alright to take it from its Indian owners. There are other present day cases. A few years ago, Congress confiscated part of the reservation that was shared by the Yurok Nation in California and turned it over to another tribe. Congress gloated at the time that it could do this without paying compensation because of Congress’ so-called “Plenary Power” over Indians and their property.

A few years ago, Congress passed a law that orders a fund of money belonging to nine Western Shoshone tribes to be taken from the tribes and handed out by the Interior Department to some but not all individual tribal members. The bill was passed over the objections of most of the tribes.

The Interior Department still will not fully account for Indian funds that it holds. This national shame is reported regularly in the press. The Department is defying the law, as it has done for generations. The United States still insists that Indian tribes and in some respects Indian individuals, are in a state of permanent, involuntary trusteeship, with the federal government as trustee. No one else in the US is subject to such unaccountable “trusteeship.”

Congress today insists it can put Indian nations and tribes out of existence at any time. Indian nations and tribes still have no real right to exist in US law. The threat of termination is very real. Some small Native tribes in Alaska have recently heard this threat from congressional sources.

Congress also insists that it may freely violate treaties made with Indian nations. Sadly this is not a thing of the past. It does this today – regularly. Treaties are contracts, and the government cannot freely violate its contracts with others, but it does so – often – in the case of Indian treaties.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, an international legal body that is officially recognized and supported by the United States, recently concluded that US policies regarding Indian lands are discriminatory and constitute a violation of human rights. But the Bush Administration defied the Commission and the present Administration is still refusing to change the discriminatory laws it applies to Indian tribes.

This on-going pattern of lawless and arbitrary congressional power over Indians has resulted in a negative, risky, unpredictable business climate on Indian reservations that inhibits needed economic development.

To be clear, many of the things Congress is considering apologizing for are still being done to Indian and Alaska Native tribes and to Native Hawaiians as well. Sadly, the United States, especially the US Congress, has never given up its insistence on treating Indian and Alaska Native nations with injustice and discrimination. This is not only wrong but very bad public policy and wholly out of keeping with American values.

Congress should conduct hearings and adopt a resolution promising never again to take Indian or tribal property without due process of law and fair market compensation. The resolution should promise that Congress will never again terminate any Native American tribe or its government and never again violate or abrogate a treaty with an Indian nation without making full compensation and correcting all resulting harm to the Indian nation. Congress must examine and change all federal laws, regulations, and courtmade law that deprive Indian nations and tribes of constitutional rights. Congress must pass legislation to assure that the government accounts fully for the Indian money and property it holds.

Without such commitments from Congress, an apology will be just another offense against Native Americans. Until the government changes its ways, things cannot be expected to improve much in Indian country. This is a good time to make the changes.
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Source: Indian Law Resource Center

Native Rights News is making this material 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.
____________
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 Peace and Justice Ministry.

Oregon Modocs Reassert Unique Identity & Right to Self-Government: to Separate from the Klamath Tribes

Modoc Land Recovery Project
Press Release: October 15, 2009

Oregon Modocs Take First Step to Separate from Klamath Tribes and Form Own Government — Issue Country's First Tribal Declaration Based on UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Approximately thirty Modoc Indians attended a meeting last Friday evening (10-09-2009) in the Klamath County Commissioner's Hearing Room in Klamath Falls, Oregon, where they listened to a presentation by Perry Chesnut in which he urged them to join the movement to reestablish Modoc self-government and sovereignty over their ancestral homelands by signing the Declaration of the Rights of the Free and Sovereign People of the Modoc Indian Tribe .

Chesnut, whose Indian name is Two Eagles, is a life-long social activist and champion of indigenous rights. In 1992, the late Miller Anderson adopted Chesnut into his family and made him a member of the Modoc Tribe. Miller Anderson is a direct descendant of Sloc-a-lot (known to white settlers as Chief George), who at the time of the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73 was the acknowledged La̕qi (Modoc for "Leader") or Headman of the Kokiwas Band of the Modoc Tribe.

The 11-page Declaration contains 46 Articles setting forth various inalienable rights preceded by a preamble containing 30 statements as to the reasons why the Declaration has been issued. It is believed to be the first such declaration issued by any Native American tribe or nation that is based on the provisions of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) approved by the UN General Assembly in September of 2007.

We must take decisive action to reassert our unique tribal and cultural identity

Mr. Chesnut opened the meeting by noting that the Modoc Indians of southern Oregon and northern California are living in a time of crisis. He stated that just two days before the meeting he had received a phone call from a Klamath Indian who "angrily told me that the Klamath Tribes are one people — that the Modoc Indians have no separate identity or culture, that they and the Klamaths are culturally indistinguishable."

"What could be more sacred to us than our unique identity as an Indian people? Yet that identity has been slowly slipping away for the last fifty or more years, being eroded and submerged into a mishmash of Indian peoples enrolled in the political organization known as the Klamath Tribes. And make no mistake, the Klamath Tribes is not a tribe. It is a political organization, an affiliation of three separate tribes, to which no law or moral imperative requires us to remain tied. Today very few people draw a distinction between the Klamath and Modoc peoples. Yet our Creator did distinguish between all other people and us, making us unique and giving us our own unique homeland and culture. We must take decisive action to reassert our unique tribal and cultural identity. And we must do it now, before it is too late."

Indisputable evidence of the unique identity and culture of the Modoc Indians

Mr. Chesnut noted archaeological evidence showing that the Modoc Indians have occupied southern Oregon and northern California continuously for the last 12,000 to 15,000 years and stated that there is no scientific evidence showing a similar history for the Klamath Indians. "Compared to us the Klamaths are relative newcomers to this region," Chesnut said.

Chesnut also cited ethnological field research by the University of Washington Laboratory of Anthropology in 1934 that concluded that the belief systems, values, patterns and practices of the Modoc Indians up to the time of the Modoc Indian War of 1872-73 "set their culture clearly apart from any other in the world, even from their immediate California neighbors."

Chesnut also cited a book titled Myths of the Modocs published in 1912, containing a large number of myths related to Jeremiah Curtin in 1884 by Ko-a-lak'-ak-a, a Modoc woman who was part of the group of Modocs exiled to Oklahoma at the close of the Modoc Indian War in 1873. According to the author's introduction to the 389 page book, "In childhood her grandfather had instructed her in the religion of her people, in other words, taught her all the myths of the Modocs, and to old age her tenacious memory retained many of them."

Chesnut stated that this book is "absolute proof" of the separate identity and culture of the Modoc people. As an example, he read from a passage in the story called "Kumush [Modoc for Creator] and His Daughter" that describes how the Creator made, named and gave to each of the Shasta, Pitt River, Warm Springs, Klamath and Modoc peoples their own lands and unique characteristics. Chesnut stated that the book is filled with mythical events that occurred at such places as Mt. Shasta, Lost River, Tule Lake, the Sycan River and Marsh, and Glass Mountain. "These references to culturally significant events associated with places can be used to verify and validate the extent and boundaries of our ancestral homelands," Chesnut said.

Chesnut also referred to the unique style and quality of Modoc baskets, which are prized by museums and collectors around the world. "It is not Klamath baskets that enjoy this distinction, but Modoc baskets."

Chesnut concluded this portion of his talk by stating: "It is beyond dispute that our people are a unique people with our own unique identity and culture. I have shared this with you because before we can do, we must be."

Declaration of the Rights of the Free and Sovereign People of the Modoc Indian Tribe

Holding up a copy of the Declaration, Chesnut stated that the document "is not a petition asking for relief from some higher authority, but a declaration of our fundamental rights as a people that reasserts our status as a unique tribe independent of any other." He said that it enumerates "specific God-given rights inherent to us as a tribe, including, but not limited to:

• the recognition of our political sovereignty,
• political and economic self-determination,
• the restoration and control of our homelands, which cover an area of between 5,000 and 6,500 square miles and include three national forests
• the right to protect our homelands and their resources from the detrimental actions of third parties,
• the right to preserve and protect our culture, including our language, arts, religion and sacred places;
• the right to bring home and reunite with our brothers and sisters who are living in exile in Oklahoma.

All of these rights can be boiled down to one overarching right — the RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNMENT."

Chesnut declared, "Those who sign this document will be declaring their identity as a Modoc Indian, and they will be preparing the ground for the reinstitution of our own tribal government through the drafting, ratification and, if legally necessary, U.S. Government approval of our own constitution."

Constitution of Klamath Tribes 'fundamentally and fatally flawed'

Chesnut stated that the Constitution and Bylaws of the Klamath Tribes is "fundamentally and fatally flawed, and we will never be able to convince the ethnic Klamaths to fix it." He said that it is modeled on the constitutional framework offered to Indian tribes by the government under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1834. "What true government has 'bylaws'? Bylaws are something a club or a corporation have." He said that the Klamath Constitution creates a government with a weak single legislative body (General Council), a strong, directly elected executive body (Tribal Council) and a recently added Judicial branch. Chesnut stated that over the last ten years there has been a nationwide movement of tribes to reform their governments and rewrite their constitutions, moving away from the IRA model still in use by the Klamath Tribes.

Chesnut said that while such an IRA type constitution "might work" for some tribes, it has never worked for the Modocs. "As you all know, with the Lakes Treaty of 1864, the government forced the Modocs and Yahooskin Snake Band of Paiutes to remove to the Klamath Reservation, which was located entirely within the territorial boundaries of Klamath ancestral lands. This itself was a formula for failure, and, in fact was the most important cause of the [Modoc Indian] war and subsequent exile of our people to Oklahoma. But added to this is the fact that the three tribes, all of which have very different histories, beliefs, values and cultures, have been merged by this faulty constitution into a single General Council, in which all decisions are made or ratified by a simple one man one vote majority. The more than ten to one numerical superiority of the ethnic Klamaths over the ethnic Modocs and Yahooskins operates to effectively disenfranchise and subjugate them to ethnic Klamath rule."

A simple analogy

Chesnut asked those gathered at the meeting to imagine what would have happened if the founding fathers of the United States had not had the wisdom to create a bicameral legislative branch, "that is, if the Constitution did not provide for a U.S. Senate to act as a check on the power of the U.S. House of Representatives. Without a Senate, in which each state, regardless of population, has two senators, New York, California, Texas and two or three other states would make all the decisions, rendering the smaller population states effectively powerless, with representation in name only."

"This is the situation we Modocs and our Yahooskin brothers have faced for 136 years, and many of us, perhaps most, are tired of trying to work within a system that is structurally designed to make us powerless against the tyranny of the majority, who are the ethnic Klamaths."

The next step: 'our own constitution'

Chesnut said that after the Modoc people gain sufficient signatures on the Declaration, the next step will be to "draft and ratify our own constitution for the Modoc Tribe." He said that this process must be careful and deliberate because "if we just slap something together, we are likely to end up with a constitution just as bad or worse than the Klamath Tribes constitution we have now. We will need to hold numerous meetings to decide many difficult issues, such as how traditional and decentralized our government should or should not be, what particular governmental structures we need, and what our citizenship criteria will be. Above all, the constitution must reflect the values and culture of our people in order to have the legitimacy and stability necessary to promote political self-determination and healthy economic development."

The difficulty of our task — the inevitability of our freedom

During the question and answer session, Chesnut was told that many Modocs were afraid to sign the Declaration because officials of the Klamath Tribal government would retaliate by taking away their federal benefits or fire them from tribal jobs.

Chesnut responded, "This is going to be a long and difficult process. An independent self-governed Modoc Tribe will be opposed not only by the Klamath Tribal government but by many of the white owned farms and businesses that are making money off of our land. They want things to remain as they are. To the Klamaths our independence will mean a loss of federal dollars which are allocated on the basis of head count. So they see us only as so many dollars. Local farms and businesses are likely to fear that our independence will result in changes that will adversely affect them. So it's going to be hard, and we must expect vigorous opposition to what we are doing."

" But we can also expect support and help from various sources, including other Indian tribes, major university projects and institutes, environmental and human rights organizations, and even from individual white persons in this very community, who want to see the injustices of the past righted. Now that this movement has started, it cannot be stopped so long as we pursue our goal. Our liberation from 136 years of exile and oppression, the reestablishment of Modoc self-government and restoration of our ancestral homelands is inevitable."

"As to your specific concerns about retaliation against those Modocs who sign or promote the Declaration, let me point out that nothing in the Lakes Treaty of 1864 or the Klamath Tribes Restoration Act of 1986 took away our sovereignty as a tribe separate from the Klamath Tribe or Yahooskin Snake Band of Paiutes. In fact, both the Treaty and the Restoration Act list and recognize our tribes separately. Further, what we are doing now is exercising rights to self-government and self-determination authorized and encouraged by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1834, as amended in 1988, and by the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975."

"Until our new constitution is ratified and, if necessary approved by the Interior Department, we will all remain enrolled members of the Klamath Tribes, entitled to receive all the federal benefits we are receiving right now. When our new constitution goes into effect, the BIA and IHS will be required by law to administer these same benefits to our people through our own government instead of the Klamath Tribal government. This transition should be seamless, with no interruption in the flow of benefits."

"In 1968, Congress enacted the Indian Civil Rights Act, which protects political activity and speech such as we are engaging in now. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also has jurisdiction over Indian tribes and nations and enforces regulations designed to prevent and punish discrimination in employment on the part of a dominant band or group."

"One can never prevent another person who is committed to violating the law from doing so, but any retaliation by the Klamath Tribes or its officials against the Modoc People will be immediately be reported to the federal government, and appropriate legal action will be taken. As a tribe we must protect and support each other. We must make the commitment now to financially support any Modoc who is fired from a tribal job in retaliation for exercising his or her right to free speech and political organization, while legal steps are taken to obtain that person's reinstatement and back-pay. And I can assure you, if anything like that happens, there will be serious legal consequences for the Klamath tribal officials involved."

Signatures obtained and Declaration Bearers

At the close of the meeting, thirteen adult Modocs signed the Declaration, bringing the current total number of signers to just over fifty. Additionally, four individuals volunteered to act as Declaration Bearers, that is, to carry and promote the Declaration to other Modocs and to obtain their signatures. These individuals include John Slaughter, Preston Miles and Diana Wright. Modocs wishing to learn more about or sign the Declaration of Rights and the movement to enact a Modoc constitution, or who wish to become Declaration Bearers themselves should contact any of the following persons.

Robert Wayne Anderson, 541-591-2956
John Slaughter, hatchat@charter.net
Preston Miles, 541-274-1330, 929miles@gmail.com
Diana Wright, 541-273-8874, dianawright1@charter.net
Perry Chesnut, 425-770-7345, pchesnut@indigenous-rights.org

A copy of the Declaration of the Rights of the Free and Sovereign People of the Modoc Indian Tribe is attached as a Microsoft Word .doc file. For more information concerning this press release, contact:

Perry Chesnut
Modoc Land Recovery Project
425-770-7345
pchesnut@indigenous-rights.org
________________________________________________________

Copyright 2009: Modoc Land Recovery Project

Native Rights News is making this material from [name of news source] 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.
____________
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 Peace and Justice Ministry.

Failure of Peruvian Government to Recognize Indigenous Rights to Ancestral Lands at Heart of Recent Massacre

SOUTH AMERICA: Calls for Justice for Peru's Native Peoples
By Franz Chávez*

LA PAZ, Jun 12 (IPS) - Social organisations in South America are backing the struggle against opening up Peru’s Amazon jungle to mining and oil companies, which resulted in clashes in which at least nine indigenous people and 25 police officers died.

The recent violence near the town of Bagua, in the northern Peruvian province of Amazonas, is seen by indigenous organisations in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador as an attack on people who are defending life, nature, human rights and the rational use of natural resources.

Native communities in the Peruvian rainforest are demanding the repeal of a series of decrees issued by the García administration to promote foreign investment on indigenous lands, in the framework of the free trade agreement signed with the United States.

A two-month protest by indigenous people outside the northern Peruvian town of Bagua ended in bloodshed on Jun. 5, when the police violently broke up a roadblock there.

A multi-party parliamentary committee declared in December that the decrees in question are unconstitutional, as the native groups argue.

In an open letter to the region's presidents, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) called on them to defend native peoples and confirm their commitment to peace and justice in South America.

A congress of the Indigenous Confederation of Indigenous People of Bolivia (CIDOB) urged the United Nations and the Organisation of American States to send a team of investigators to Bagua to verify what happened there on Jun. 5.

While official accounts say that nine indigenous people and 25 members of the police were killed, eyewitnesses who have spoken to the press say the bodies of indigenous protesters were thrown into the river from a helicopter.

"We consider this violent action by the Peruvian government to be a massacre and a flagrant violation of the life, integrity and fundamental rights of indigenous communities," said the Colombian National Authority of Indigenous Government (ONIC) in a letter to President García.

"We join our voices to the Amazonian indigenous communities who are demanding an end to the violation of their rights and the repeal of the free trade agreement decrees that open the doors to the invasion and plundering of their territories.

"We condemn the violent actions of the Peruvian government against our peoples," says the letter, which also calls for medical attention for the injured and policies to prevent a repeat of the incident.

García's response to the violence was to allege that "foreign meddling" was behind the protests in the Amazon. He later specifically mentioned Bolivia’s left-wing president, the first indigenous leader of that country.

In the midst of the political crisis triggered by the violent incident, García accused Morales of inciting the protests by means of an "inflammatory" letter sent to the Fourth Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples, held May 29 in the Peruvian city of Puno, on the border with Bolivia.

Although he was the most important guest invited to the summit, Morales merely sent a letter by the hand of Senator Leonilda Zurita of his governing Movement to Socialism (MAS), who is an activist for women's rights and political and trade union freedoms.

The meeting, held on Peruvian soil but only 200 km west of La Paz, brought together native leaders of the Americas, called Abya Yala in precolonial times.

"That meeting discussed uprisings and insurgency," García maintained. "A president of a neighbouring country sent messages about our countries being governed by indigenous peoples, who are victims of exploitation and utterly neglected, which is not true, because the statistics on employment and welfare have improved in the jungle areas."

In La Paz, Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera, a recognised champion of indigenous rights, said in reply that "letters do not kill," referring to the violence unleashed in the Peruvian Amazon.

"We confirm the contents (of the letter) and we are proud of every word and every letter in it," said the deputy minister for coordination with social movements, Sacha Llorenti, one of Morales’ closest associates.

"From resistance we have gone on to rebellion, and then to revolution. This is the second independence," said Llorenti, in support of Morales' policy of nationalising Bolivia’s abundant natural gas reserves, which were handed over by previous governments to foreign companies.

"It is difficult to rebuild what has been destroyed over 25 years of neoliberal, free market policies," Llorenti said.

Morales' letter to the indigenous leaders' summit also says "free trade agreements break up harmonious human relationships with nature; they commodify natural resources and national cultures; they privatise basic services; they try to patent life itself."

"Some people think globalisation means they have a right to interfere in the politics of neighbouring countries, "said García. "That is regrettable. If they wish, I can interfere too (in Bolivian affairs) and I know how to do so. I don't think it's democratic or legal or positive for international relations."

Sociologist Carlos Laruta, the head of the Centre for Research and Advancement of Peasant Farmers (CIPCA) in the impoverished city of El Alto, Bolivia, said that it is up to Morales to explain the intention of his letter, because he is the representative of a state and therefore subject to the rule of international law.

"A president cannot do things that run counter to international law," Laruta said.

Anthropologist Martín von Hildebrand, winner of the 1999 Alternative Nobel Prize, said the root problem is that the rights of Peruvian indigenous peoples to their ancestral territories have not been recognised in practice, as they have in other countries that share the Amazon basin: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.

"When you look at a big map of the Amazon basin, you can see that Brazil has given indigenous peoples a territory as large as Colombia itself (1.1 million square kilometres)," he said, while Colombia has given them 27 million hectares, and Bolivia and Ecuador have also made progress.

"If you look at a government map of Peru, marking potential lumber, oil, gas and mineral extraction, the country's Amazon area is completely covered with marks," said von Hildebrand, who is also head of the Gaia Amazonas Foundation, which works to strengthen indigenous culture and autonomy as a strategy for preserving the rainforest.

* With additional reporting by Constanza Vieira (Bogotá) and Ángel Páez (Lima).

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Copyright 2009: IPS-Inter Press Service

Native Rights News is making this material from [name of news source] 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.
____________
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 Peace and Justice Ministry.