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Front Page or Contents
Pine Ridge News 2000
Pine Ridge and Related Media Releases
These may be somewhat hap-hazard but very
important and up to the relative
minute. Please note that the fundamental issue that continues to rear it's ugly head,
Racism and Violence. No one can afford to turn away when the body count continues
to rise. This is not Mississippi in 1960. This is American 1999 and there is no reason f
or a "people" to be hunted and the perpetrators to be ignored or God forbid,
encouraged.
Additionally, land issues and Treaty Rights are
becoming a very important issue especially
in light of the Supreme Court rulings that the U.S. Government has to settle these issues
as they are legally binding agreements. There is no other court to appeal to. It is my
personal belief that this mandate is the fundamental cause of the increase of violence
being
waged upon the Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. In the Sioux Nations case, 3/4 of the male
population has to ratify any agreement the U.S. proposes. Like any cheap Mafia scheme,
if you terrorize the local's and instill enough fear they'll settle cheap. It is our goal
and desire
to see the Sioux Nation obtain a fair and equitable settlement and a final resolution to
this
sad and tragic affair once and for all. We aim to insure that what ever resources we can
muster
and apply are used to this end.
Ellis
___________________________________________________________________________
************
Christmas Pine Ridge Reminder
December, 1999
Reminder:
Also, I'm sure those things you get for Christmas, that you don't want or
don't need, would be much appreciated even after Christmas at Pine Ride.
PELTIER HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE
Native American Political Prisoner, Leonard Peltier has organized his usual
annual gift drive for the people of the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation, in
South Dakota. You can send gifts such as practical, new clothing (gloves,
jeans, T-shirts, socks, thermal underwear, sweat-shirts, hats, scarves,
jackets, boots, etc.), blankets, pillows, tools, children's toys, etc. to
the following address. All sizes, from infant to adult (XXL) are needed.
This will be distributed to the people who live on the Pine Ridge
Reservation at Leonard's request. Please encourage others to do the same!
Thank you.
Send the gifts to Geraldine Janis, member of the Elders Council of the
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.
Geraldine Janis
PO Box 525
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
For more info contact the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Tel (785) 842-5774, Fax (785) 842-5796, Email lpdc@idir.net,
http://www.freepeltier.org
Reminder:
Also, I'm sure those things you get for Christmas, that you don't want or
don't need, would be much appriciated even after Christmas at Pine Ride.
***********
October 12, 1999
Liquor Plan by LaMere Sparks Protest
BY SUSAN SZALEWSKI
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
About 30 people, including members of at least seven American Indian tribes, protested
Monday outside the Sioux City, Iowa, American Indian Center.
Inside, an audience was gathering to hear Frank LaMere speak of his plan for Indians to
obtain a liquor license for an Indian-owned store in Whiteclay, Neb.
The plan by LaMere and Russell Means has caused a split among Indian
leaders on how to solve the problems of alcohol sales in Whiteclay and
alcohol use in the adjoining Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation.
"Alcohol adversely affects indige-nous peoples as well as all people of the
world," Scott
Barta, one of the protesters, said in a telephone interview. "All liquor stores
should be
closed in the (Whiteclay) area."
Barta is administrative assistant at the Native American Alcohol Treatment Program in
Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.
On his way inside the Indian Center, LaMere spoke to the group of demonstrators.
According to Barta, the demonstrators asked LaMere if he was retracting his
statements on obtaining a liquor license. LaMere said he would not change his position.
Protesters included area youths and Reva Barta, national secretary for the American Indian
Movement. She is Scott Barta's mother.
The protest lasted about 90 minutes. Some of the demonstrators then went inside to hear
LaMere.
Two Oglala Sioux men were slain in June at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The deaths were the catalyst for weekend marches from Pine Ridge, S.D., to Whiteclay, to
focus attention on the unsolved slayings and protest the sale of beer in the Nebraska
village to reservation residents.
Earlier Monday, LaMere was in Omaha to present Millard South High School with a special
American Indian ceremonial blanket to recognize the school's decision to drop its Indian
mascot.
More South Dakota News...Click
Here
**********
October 7, 1999
Judge Schedules Nov. 17 Hearing on
Whiteclay Jurisdiction
http://www.ap.org/
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Sheridan County judge has scheduled a
Nov. 17 hearing to decide whether the village of Whiteclay
should be under the jurisdiction of an American Indian
reservation in South Dakota.
Judge Charles Plantz scheduled the hearing Tuesday. He will
preside over a courtroom in which lawyers will argue whether
nine American Indians in a protest over beer sales in
Whiteclay should face charges under Nebraska law.
"To answer that question you would have to look at treaties,
statutes, executive orders as well as cases interpreting
those documents," said John Snowden, a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln law professor.
The nine protesters were arrested during a July 3 march
from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to
Whiteclay, an unincorporated village of 22 just inside the
Nebraska border. Marchers were protesting 4 million cans of
beer sold annually by Whiteclay's non-Indian merchants,
mainly to nearby reservation residents, where the sale of
alcohol is illegal.
Those questioning reservation boundaries maintain a
turn-of-the-century presidential order illegally removed
Whiteclay from reservation jurisdiction.
***********
Activists Split Over Plans
For Whiteclay Beer Store
Oct. 7. 1999
By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press Writer
OMAHA, Neb. -- An American Indian activist working to close beer retailers
in Whiteclay vows to target plans by fellow activists to open their own
beer store in the village near the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation.
Tom Poor Bear, an Oglala Sioux from Wanblee, said he will fight to shut
down all of Whiteclay's beer stores, regardless of who owns them.
''We want to shut Whiteclay down, and if they have a store, we will shut
them down,'' said Poor Bear, who has helped organize weekly protest marches
in the village of 22 along the South Dakota border.
Whiteclay's four beer stores sell 4 million cans of beer annually, mainly
to residents of the nearby reservation, where alcohol is banned.
Activists Russell Means, an Oglala from Porcupine and co-founder of the
American Indian Movement, and Frank LaMere, a Winnebago from South Sioux
City, Neb., plan to seek a license to sell beer in Whiteclay. They want to
form a nonprofit corporation to open the liquor store and use the proceeds
to build an alcohol rehabilitation center.
LaMere said an Indian-owned store is the only way to drive the village's
four beer stores out of business and restore sobriety to the reservation in
South Dakota.
Poor Bear, Means and LaMere were among nine activists arrested July 3
during a protest march in Whiteclay. The three have led the marches to
protest the beer sales and the deaths of Poor Bear's half-brother, Wilson
Black Elk, Jr., and his cousin, Ronald Hard Heart.
Both men were found slain June 8 in a culvert near the Nebraska line on the
reservation. Activists claim alcohol was involved and the FBI is not doing
enough to solve the murders.
The Oglala also claim that under an 1868 treaty, Whiteclay is part of the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and therefore alcohol sales are illegal in
the town.
A Sheridan County judge plans to hear arguments Nov. 17 on whether
Whiteclay should be under the tribe's jurisdiction. The hearing was
requested by the attorneys for Poor Bear, Means, LaMere and other
protesters arrested in Whiteclay.
If Whiteclay is found to be part of the reservation, beer retailers will
only move off tribal land, and alcohol sales will continue, LaMere said.
Instead the area's dynamics need to change, and the only way to do that is
drive the beer stores out of business, LaMere said.
''We will drive the beer sellers from Whiteclay, and if they move five
miles down the road, we will drive them from there also,'' LaMere said.
''That is the only solution. That is what we will work for.''
Stu Kozal, who sells beer at the Jumping Eagle Inn in Whiteclay, said
LaMere and Means should try buying the village's four beer stores before
trying to open their own.
LaMere and Means have not applied for a liquor license with the state.
http://wolfseeker.com
http://www.sunlink.net/~wlfskr
http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/mbs.cgi/mb629759
****************
October 06, 1999
Whiteclay Beer Proposal Divides
Indian Leaders
BY DAVID HENDEE AND PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
Plans by two American Indians to seek a liquor license for an Indian-owned
store in Whiteclay, Neb., has put a twist into a pending court case and
created a split among Indian leaders.
Tom Poor Bear, an Oglala Sioux from Wanblee, S.D., and an organizer of
weekly protest marches to Whiteclay, said he does not support the plan
announced Monday for Indians to sell beer in the northwest Nebraska village
21 miles north of Rushville.
"Their intentions are good," Poor Bear said of Frank LaMere and Russell
Means, "but it's still illegal to sell or possess alcohol on Indian land,
and I believe 100 percent that Whiteclay is on Indian land."
LaMere, a Winnebago from South Sioux City, Neb., and Means, an Oglala from
Porcupine, S.D., plan to seek a license to sell beer in Whiteclay. They
said the profits would build an alcoholism-treatment center on the Oglala
Sioux's adjoining Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Poor Bear, LaMere and Means are among nine defendants in a misdemeanor
criminal case in Sheridan County Court stemming from their arrests during a
July 3 protest march to Whiteclay from the nearby village of Pine Ridge, S.D.
They are challenging Nebraska's jurisdiction in their cases, saying
Whiteclay is on Indian land.
Poor Bear said he did not understand how his co-defendants could argue on
one hand that Whiteclay is legally part of the reservation but then say
they want to be part of the action by selling beer to Indians.
"We say the Whiteclay people are illegally selling alcohol on reservation
land, and if Indians get a liquor license they would also be selling liquor
illegally on Indian land," he said.
Poor Bear said he supports the idea of using profits from Whiteclay beer
sales to operate a treatment center on the reservation.
"Whiteclay now contributes nothing in the way of treatment and
detoxification centers to help cure this disease we have," Poor Bear said.
"But first we have to deal with the land issue."
Sheridan County Judge Charles Plantz on Tuesday set a Nov. 17 hearing for
the nine Indian defendants to prove their claim that Whiteclay and land
around it is legally part of the Pine Ridge reservation.
Jerry Matthews of Hay Springs, Neb., the defendants' attorney, said his
clients would prove that 19th-century treaties, acts of Congress and
presidential orders make the Whiteclay region part of the reservation.
Deputy County Attorney John Freudenburg did not challenge Matthews' move
but reserved the right to reply after evidence is submitted.
The court action is the first legal step taken by the Indians to use their
case to argue treaty claims to Whiteclay.
Poor Bear said the solution is for the Tribal Council to file a federal
lawsuit, to get a determination on whether Whiteclay is legally a part of
the reservation, and for the tribe to step up roadblocks to stop the flow
of alcohol.
Currently, reservation police set up roadblocks once or twice a month for a
period of up to two hours at the border near Whiteclay to confiscate
alcohol coming into the reservation.
Poor Bear said that is too infrequent and too short.
"People can wait that out," he said. "They need to be there for
several hours."
Poor Bear met last week with tribal police officials on the issue, asking
for roadblocks lasting 12 hours or more for the first three days of the
month - when welfare checks are received and Whiteclay liquor and grocery
stores are swamped with customers.
That can't be done, said Oglala Tribe Police Chief Stanley Star Comes Out.
He said that his department is too short of manpower and finances to
increase the roadblocks, which take 10 officers or more during peak times.
The tribe has 65 police officers and four highway troopers to cover its
800-square-mile reservation, Star Comes Out said.
The tribe laid off 40 police officers Aug. 30 after a federal grant ran
out. Star Comes Out said that a new, three-year federal grant allowed the
rehiring of those officers on Oct. 1, plus the hiring of 19 others.
******************
Hearing set to determine
Whiteclay jurisdiction
BY JODI RAVE Lincoln Journal Star
----------
A Sheridan County judge Tuesday scheduled a Nov. 17 hearing
to begin deciding the legal issue of where Indian Country begins and
ends in Nebraska.
Judge Charles Plantz will preside over a hearing during which lawyers will
argue whether nine American Indians -- the "Whiteclay 9" --
arrested this summer fall under Nebraska jurisdiction.
"To answer that question you would have to look at treaties, statutes,
executive orders, as well as cases interpreting those documents," said John
Snowden, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln law professor.
The Whiteclay 9 were arrested during a protest march from South Dakota's
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Whiteclay, an unincorporated village of 22
just inside the Nebraska border. Marchers were protesting 4 million cans of
beer sold annually by Whiteclay's non-Indian merchants, mainly to nearby
reservation residents.
Those questioning reservation boundaries maintain a turn-of-the-century
presidential order illegally removed Whiteclay from reservation jurisdiction.
John Yellow Bird Steele, former Oglala tribal chairman, and Oliver Red
Cloud, a noted Lakota elder, recently asked the reservation's tribal court
to exert jurisdiction in Whiteclay to stop alcohol sales.
The men said alcohol is being sold on reservation land where alcohol sales
are illegal.
In a Sept. 20 court order, Oglala Sioux Tribal Court Judge Patrick Lee
said: "Whiteclay, Nebraska, may in fact be a part of the Pine Ridge
Reservation. When the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the United States officially
declare Whiteclay, Nebraska, to be a part of the Pine Ridge Reservation ...
then this court will be in a position to enforce tribal laws." Meanwhile,
Nebraska officials disagree with arguments the state does not have
jurisdiction in the matter. They say the law clearly supports state
troopers who charged the Whiteclay 9 with obstructing a police officer and
failure to comply with a lawful order, both misdemeanors.
"We have jurisdiction," said Deputy County Attorney John Freudenberg.
"The
state law enforcement officer and the county law enforcement have proper
jurisdiction to enforce the state's criminal laws."
Congressman Bill Barrett said in news reports that even if land near
Whiteclay was Indian land he would be reluctant to support its return.
"I'm appalled by these statements," said Frank LaMere, a Winnebago who was
among those arrested.
Barrett replied: "Some took that response to mean I wouldn't, under any
circumstances, support granting the tribe more land.
"It's always dangerous to take comments out of context, especially in a
situation as complex as this one. This is complicated by 200 years of
history, court decisions, congressional actions ...
plus each person's emotions on the subject.
"There are too many unanswered questions and much more research that needs
to be done."
http://wolfseeker.com
http://www.sunlink.net/~wlfskr
http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/mbs.cgi/mb629759
******************
October 06, 1999
Whiteclay Beer Proposal Divides Indian
Leaders
BY DAVID HENDEE AND PAUL HAMMEL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
Plans by two American Indians to seek a liquor license for an Indian-owned
store in Whiteclay, Neb., has put a twist into a pending court case and
created a split among Indian leaders.
Tom Poor Bear, an Oglala Sioux from Wanblee, S.D., and an organizer of
weekly protest marches to Whiteclay, said he does not support the plan
announced Monday for Indians to sell beer in the northwest Nebraska village
21 miles north of Rushville.
"Their intentions are good," Poor Bear said of Frank LaMere and Russell
Means, "but it's still illegal to sell or possess alcohol on Indian land,
and I believe 100 percent that Whiteclay is on Indian land."
LaMere, a Winnebago from South Sioux City, Neb., and Means, an Oglala from
Porcupine, S.D., plan to seek a license to sell beer in Whiteclay. They
said the profits would build an alcoholism-treatment center on the Oglala
Sioux's adjoining Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Poor Bear, LaMere and Means are among nine defendants in a misdemeanor
criminal case in Sheridan County Court stemming from their arrests during a
July 3 protest march to Whiteclay from the nearby village of Pine Ridge, S.D.
They are challenging Nebraska's jurisdiction in their cases, saying
Whiteclay is on Indian land.
Poor Bear said he did not understand how his co-defendants could argue on
one hand that Whiteclay is legally part of the reservation but then say
they want to be part of the action by selling beer to Indians.
"We say the Whiteclay people are illegally selling alcohol on reservation
land, and if Indians get a liquor license they would also be selling liquor
illegally on Indian land," he said.
Poor Bear said he supports the idea of using profits from Whiteclay beer
sales to operate a treatment center on the reservation.
"Whiteclay now contributes nothing in the way of treatment and
detoxification centers to help cure this disease we have," Poor Bear said.
"But first we have to deal with the land issue."
Sheridan County Judge Charles Plantz on Tuesday set a Nov. 17 hearing for
the nine Indian defendants to prove their claim that Whiteclay and land
around it is legally part of the Pine Ridge reservation.
Jerry Matthews of Hay Springs, Neb., the defendants' attorney, said his
clients would prove that 19th-century treaties, acts of Congress and
presidential orders make the Whiteclay region part of the reservation.
Deputy County Attorney John Freudenburg did not challenge Matthews' move
but reserved the right to reply after evidence is submitted.
The court action is the first legal step taken by the Indians to use their
case to argue treaty claims to Whiteclay.
Poor Bear said the solution is for the Tribal Council to file a federal
lawsuit, to get a determination on whether Whiteclay is legally a part of
the reservation, and for the tribe to step up roadblocks to stop the flow
of alcohol.
Currently, reservation police set up roadblocks once or twice a month for a
period of up to two hours at the border near Whiteclay to confiscate
alcohol coming into the reservation.
Poor Bear said that is too infrequent and too short.
"People can wait that out," he said. "They need to be there for several
hours."
Poor Bear met last week with tribal police officials on the issue, asking
for roadblocks lasting 12 hours or more for the first three days of the
month - when welfare checks are received and Whiteclay liquor and grocery
stores are swamped with customers.
That can't be done, said Oglala Tribe Police Chief Stanley Star Comes Out.
He said that his department is too short of manpower and finances to
increase the roadblocks, which take 10 officers or more during peak times.
The tribe has 65 police officers and four highway troopers to cover its
800-square-mile reservation, Star Comes Out said.
The tribe laid off 40 police officers Aug. 30 after a federal grant ran
out. Star Comes Out said that a new, three-year federal grant allowed the
rehiring of those officers on Oct. 1, plus the hiring of 19 others.
http://wolfseeker.com
http://www.sunlink.net/~wlfskr
http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/mbs.cgi/mb629759
****************
Russell Means seeks beer license
Indian leaders urge equality for all
BY JODI RAVE Lincoln Journal Star
ERIC GREGORY/ Lincoln Journal Star
"Refugees in our own country": Russell Means speaks at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Law College Monday about plans to
file an application with the state liquor commission. Means envisions an
Indian-owned beer store in Whiteclay, from which proceeds would be used to build
a multimillion-dollar alcohol treatment center on the nearby Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation.
----------
Two American Indian leaders urged Nebraskans Monday to challenge a society
dominated by white males and understand the hopeless plight of many
indigenous people.
Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota, and Frank LaMere, a Winnebago, both
arrested this summer during a protest rally in Whiteclay, spoke to a
standing-room-only crowd at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
"We are refugees in our own country," said Means, first national director
of the American Indian Movement who helped lead the occupation of Wounded
Knee in 1973. "If we live on the reservation, we have no constitutional
protection. The FBI is our national police. The secretary of interior is
our god. And Congress has absolute power over our daily lives." Speaking to
about 175 people at the UNL Law College, Means, 60, and LaMere, 49, said
they wanted a better life for their indigenous relatives who often had no
voice.
"You can't take the most powerless among us and victimize them," said
LaMere. Earlier Monday the two Indian leaders met with Gov.
Mike Johanns to discuss filing an application with the state to sell
beer in Whiteclay.
White merchants in Whiteclay, an unincorporated village of 22 just across
the South Dakota line from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, sell more
than 4 million cans of beer annually. Most of the sales are to members of
the nearby reservation, where alcohol sales are illegal.
Does Means think his beer-selling proposal unusual?
No, Means said in an interview before his campus speech:
"It's a resolution." Means said he has been talking with a Lincoln
attorney well-versed in state liquor laws. He wants to file his
application as a nonprofit organization, funneling beer proceeds into a
multimillion-dollar alcohol treatment center. He envisions the center
being built on the reservation.
He also said he expects to be treated fairly in the application process
and is certain the business would make money. "An Indian business will get
the business," he said. "That's the American way. I want to participate in
it." Said Johanns: "We will treat that like any other application that
comes forward." During his afternoon speech, Means said the
struggle of native people to succeed on their own terms was kept
alive by America's patriarchal society. "Unless you become like a white
American male they will not leave you alone," said Means, who has been
arrested almost 30 times in as many years.
Both LaMere and Means encouraged people to unite and seek
equality for all people.
Jean Krejci, Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department employee, said she
dreamed of the day "when all people in power see this as a white person's
issue. Indians didn't create this problem. We run the system. If there's
inequality, we need to deal with it." Means and LaMere, who were among nine
men arrested July 3, both said they were tired of seeing native people
victimized. That's when they joined the first of several summer marches
into Whiteclay to protest beer sales and the murders of two Lakota men,
Ronald Hard Heart and Wallace Black Elk.
The day of the arrests remains unforgettable, said LaMere, founder of a
company that focuses on renewable energy sources for Indian reservations.
"What we saw would make you shudder," he said, describing
the helicopters, snipers, tear gas, attack dogs and nearly 100 Nebraska
state troopers in riot gear.
The tribal marchers had been warned that if they crossed a yellow streamer
marking the Nebraska border, they would go to jail.
The state's message was clear, LaMere said: "We're here to maintain the status
quo." The state contends failure to obey crowd control efforts is a
violation of the law.
Two years ago LaMere delivered a similar speech at the law college. At
that time he said he would be back to talk to them again because the
alcohol problem in Whiteclay would only get worse.
Joe Breckenridge, a third-year law UNL student who attended the on-campus
speeches, said that if the marchers disturbed the peace they should have
been arrested. "But to not allow them to enter the state is going too far."
*********************************
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 6:51 PM
South Dakota weather report
According to the weather report (for Pine Ridge) predictions
Monday - mostly sunny, high of 63, low of 33
Tuesday - sunny, high of 64, low of 32
Wednesday - sunny, high of 67, low of 31
I think you get the idea of what the weather is doing there.
It's getting cold. BTW - the wind today was around 25-30 MPH,
currently it's 8 MPH.
Some of the people that came to Camp Justice came when temperatures
were warmer, and they probably didn't expect to still be there
when the temperatures dropped. They are a little short on heavier
clothing as a result. They have made the commitment to stay though,
so for those of us who can't make it up there, let's try to show
them that we appreciate what they are doing for us all.
They can use gloves, boots, jackets, coats, long underwear, ski
caps, blankets, or even a sleeping bag. They could also use some
hot drink mixes, like hot chocolate, always need coffee <G, and
some soup mixes etc. Just try to imagine being in a tent (oh, yeah
they could use a tent or two also), in this kind of weather, and
choose whatever you think you would like to have. Air mattresses
to get the sleeping bags up off the cold ground wouldn't be a bad
choice either. Please include a note or letter to tell them you
support what they are doing too.
BTW - most of the clothes should be in the larger sizes XL or XXL.
If you can't manage any of the things listed, then please try to
send a few dollars if you can. Money orders are the easiest way,
but checks can be be sent if necessary. The checks just take a
little longer to clear so money orders are quicker.
Letters and money orders/checks;
Camp Justice
c/o Tom Poor Bear
P.O. Box 823
Pine Ridge SD 57770
Supplies and food boxes;
Camp Justice
c/o Fay Cedar Face
200 Eastridge Rd.
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Thank you
Mike Wicks
http://www.aics.org/justice/camp.html
¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤=<¤
= There are none so blind
American
Indian Cultural Support =
¤ as those who will not see
P.O. box 1783
¤
= Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com
Lutz, FL
=
¤ http://www.aics.org/index.html
33548-1783 ¤
= http://www.mindspring.com/~mike.wicks/index.html
*******************************
Open letter(s) to Costner
<+=<+KOLA Newslist<+=<+
Hello all,
We're preparing an XXL "open letter" to the Costner brothers re. their
planned Dunbar resort in the sacred Black Hills. All letters will be published in
a special issue of KOLA's quarterly magazine "Eyapaha", along with background
information on the resort and the Paha Sapa. This will be sent to Kevin & Daniel
Costner, the media, and everybody else who's interested. We need more letters from
people who are willing to have their full names, "title", etc. printed.
For more information about the Costner plans, please visit:
http://users.skynet.be/kola/costner.htm
Please send your open letter(s) to the Costner brothers to the KOLA
address before October 15h, 1999.
kolahq@skynet.be fax: 011-32-2-241-8322
in Friendship & in Struggle,
Elsie Herten and Phyllis Bald Eagle
http://users.skynet.be/kola/
http://kola-hq.hypermart.net
*********************************
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 21:17:00 -0400
Subject: March For
Justice 9/11/99
Update from Tom on today's march -
A handful of people marched today - about 15. Tom and members of Camp
Justice talked with the state police and the sheriff's department, who
stated that they will not recognize an injunction from Tribal Court - that
it will have to come from state or federal court before they will
recognize it. They also said they will talk to the business owners in Whiteclay to
see if they would willingly close down for the marches but that they
cannot force them to.
Camp Justice members will go to the Tribal Council Wednesday and ask them
to take a stronger hand in what is happening with Whiteclay and Camp Justice.
Bodies and donations are still needed. It is getting cold there.
Pat
Camp Justice
C/O Tom Poor Bear
PO Box 823
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
(605)867-5821
********************************
Camp Justice - Update
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 16:18:19 -0600
Note: All news releases from Camp Justice must be approved by Leader, Tom
Poor Bear
Send money, anything you can, even if it is $5, to help with maintaining
Camp Justice, along with letters of Support you have written, copies of news
articles for the families of the victims (they don't get many) to:
Camp Justice, c/o Tom Poor Bear, P.O. Box 823, Pine Ridge SD 57770
If you can, when you come to march or help maintain Camp Justice please
bring lots of food, camp supplies of any kind. Money sent will be used to
continue our efforts and pay the expenses. Send Donations of food & supplies
for Camp Justice:
Camp Justice c/o Fay Cedar Face, 200 Eastridge Rd, Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Please network this information.
http://users.skynet.be/kola/
http://kola-hq.hypermart.net
if you want to be removed from the KOLA
Email Newslist, just send us a message with
"unsub" in the subject or text body
*********************
Published Saturday
September 11, 1999
Activist
Defends Protests by Indians
BY ROBERT DORR
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
At two Nebraska villages - Whiteclay and Santee -
American Indian activists have risked possible jail terms
"for trying to do the right thing," an Indian arrested for
protesting beer sales in Whiteclay said Friday.
Federal and state authorities have said their attempts
to close a casino at Santee and their arrests of Indian protesters
at Whiteclay are necessary to uphold laws.
But it should be more important to do what is right, Frank LaMere,
a Winnebago Indian from South Sioux City, Neb., said at a Nebraska
Associated Press meeting of managing editors in Omaha.
"We want things to be better," LaMere said.
At Whiteclay in northwest Nebraska, across the border from the Pine Ridge
reservation in South Dakota, Indian activists have marched to protest the sale
of large amounts of beer. The protesters want "to sober up their people, to stop
domestic abuse and to end carnage on the highway"caused by the beer sales, he
said.
During a July 3 march to Whiteclay from Pine Ridge, LaMere and eight other
Indians were charged with obstructing a police officer and failure to comply with a
lawful order. Both charges are misdemeanors.
The defendants are challenging Nebraska's jurisdiction in the case. They say the
Oglala Sioux have a legitimate claim to the Whiteclay land.
Experts from other states will testify that a turn-of-the century executive order
illegally removed Whiteclay from reservation land.
"This court case may cost the State of Nebraska a lot of money," LaMere said.
On the Santee Sioux reservation in northeast Nebraska, the tribe is running a
small casino to provide jobs for impoverished tribal members, LaMere said. "What
have they done that is so wrong? They want a better way of life."
The Santees have operated a casino most of the time since February 1996 without
having a gambling compact with the State of Nebraska,as required by federal law.
In the latest round in federal court in Omaha last month, lawyers staved off jail time
for the tribe's leaders when a judge refused to hold the leaders in contempt of
court. But further action by authorities against the tribal leaders is considered likely.
LaMere said he is frustrated that Indians never seem ultimately to prevail in their
battles, such as those at Whiteclay and at Santee.
"I'm 49, and I've finally realized things for my people are never going to
change,"
he said.
Recently, however, he was feeling depressed and in a Valentine, Neb., restaurant
when an elderly man walked in and gave a rose to an elderly woman there. In
such gentle touches is some hope, he said.
"There's a lot of ugliness on the reservation and in the country," said LaMere,
who
works for a Kansas City, Mo., company that develops renewable-energy products
for tribes.
"We must find ways to foster understanding, to bring out truth, to bring people
together."
**************************
CAMP JUSTICE
For Immediate Release
September 3, 1999
CAMP JUSTICE, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota:
Negotiations Breakdown Between Oglala Lakota and State of Nebraska!
- CAMP JUSTICE organizers stated that the Oglala Lakota Oyate will no
longer negotiate with the State of Nebraska with regards to treaty land claim issues,
human and civil rights violations, and police brutality in the reservation border town
called White Clay, NE. Organizers noted that the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a
sovereign Nation and therefore will negotiate "Nation-to-Nation" only... Not
"Nation-to-state".
- CAMP JUSTICE organizers have requested that U.S. Department of Justice
officials initiate a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to discuss
long-term atrocities that have taken place in White Clay and Sheridan County, NE.
Organizers are requesting a special prosecutor to investigate a series of unexplained
and largely uninvestigated killings of Oglala Lakota people in Sheridan County,
NE.
- Negotiations have ceased since an August 19, 1999 meeting between Oglala
Lakota Nation and the Nebraska Governor's appointed task force. The meeting,
mediated by the U.S. Department of Justice, was initiated by the State of Nebraska to
present their response to the 6 Points of Justice Initiative given to Nebraska
Governor Mike Johanns on July 13, 1999.
The 6 Points of Justice
1. Demand a full and complete investigation on all human and civil
rights violations which have occurred in Sheridan County, NE since the
legalized hanging of Lakota people ceased, to the present day murders of
Martin Bull Bear, Ron Hard Heart, Wally Black Elk, Little John Means,
and many others.
2. Immediate closure of all alcohol establishments in White Clay
until a license is issued by the Secretary of the Interior or his
representative. See 1904 Presidential Executive Order.
3. Return of original designated Pine Ridge Agency lands (which
includes White Clay, NE) as noted in the 1868 Treaty with the U.S.
Government.
4. Creation of a permanent Civil Rights Office in Sheridan County,
NE to address human and civil rights violations against indigenous
Lakota people.
5. Immediate removal of Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins for
cover-up of Deputy Randy Metcalf's criminal activities against
indigenous Lakota people.
6. Establish a law requiring data collection on all traffic stops
to include state, county, and municipal law enforcement to record
the race of every motorist they stop. See North Carolina law.
NEBRASKA'S RESPONSE
- To Point #1 Murders: Claiming that since the bodies of the most
recent victims were found on the South Dakota side of the border, it is
the responsibility of the Rapid City FBI office to investigate the
murders. Lt. Col Mike Behm of the NE State Patrol stated that his
department offered to assist in the investigation but Rapid City FBI agents
informed him that his office, along with OST Police would handle the
investigation. No new investigations of unsolved murders in Sheridan County
have been initiated.
- To Point #2 Alcohol: Nebraska claims that it would take months
for the NE State Liquor Commission to cite the White Clay alcohol
establishments, only to have them turn around and pay a nominal fine and return to
business as usual.
- To Point #3 Treaty Land Claim: NE Task Force members
acknowledged that while the 1904 Executive Order is illegal without an Act of Congress,
they claim that this is a "federal issue".
- To Point #4 Civil Rights: NE claims this is a "federal issue".
- To Point #5 Police Brutality: Sheridan County Sheriff Department
has been exonerated of any criminal activity/cover-up.
- To Point #6 Racist Traffic Stops: No comment.
- Furthermore: The State of Nebraska offered the following compromises:
*Install a public restroom in White Clay; *Attempt to curb prostitution in White
Clay; *Work with White Clay grocers to provide better quality meat products.
- At the conclusion of the meeting, traditionalists - Oliver Red Cloud and
Floyd Hand stated that the real underlying issue is the Treaty land claim and
Nebraska's illegal possession of said land since 1904. Mr. Hand announced that being a
full-blood Oglala Lakota entitles him the right to initiate a land claim lawsuit against
the
United States. Furthermore, an injunction order to close White Clay alcohol
establishments during the Treaty land claim lawsuit has been initiated.
- The mission statement of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission is: "To
regulate and control the alcoholic beverage industry and beverages within an into
the State of Nebraska in an efficient, effective manner, in order to promote the public
safety, and welfare". CAMP JUSTICE organizers believe that the Commission has
grossly failed to live up to it's responsibilities as far as White Clay is concerned.
- CAMP JUSTICE organizers stated that these White Clay alcohol establishments sell alcohol
simply to make money, and have repeatedly indicated that they do not care
and/or respect our people. The complex underlying, socio-cultural disintegration, and
denigration, among indigenous Lakota people is of little concern to these establishments;
it is our People who have to live with the results of their sale of alcohol.
- Family members of the murder victims met with Minnesota attorneys this week to
initiate a wrongful death lawsuit against the State of Nebraska for it's gross negligence
concerning White Clay Liquor Violations and Sheridan County Law Enforcement.
- The next "Walk for Justice" is scheduled for September 4, 1999 at Billy
Mills Hall in Pine Ridge Village, SD. The prayer walk will begin at 12:00 p.m.,
followed by a peaceful rally in White Clay.
For more information, contact Floyd Hand at (605) 876-5762 or Tom Poor Bear
at (605) 867-5821
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to add a note of my own here; The camp is in need of some
donations.
There are a lot of mouths to be fed, and very little resources to do it
with.
Please, if you can manage even a couple dollars send it to them.
Camp Justice
c/o Tom Poor Bear
P.O. Box 823
Pine Ridge, South Dakota 57770
Packages can be sent to;
Camp Justice
C/O Fay Cedar Face
200 Eastridge Rd.
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
In struggle,
Mike
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 1999 6:46 PM
Camp Justice / Whiteclay: judge to hear case
http://www.journalstar.com/stories/neb/sto2
Judge to hear case on Whiteclay
RUSHVILLE (AP) -- Sheridan County Judge Charles Plantz
will hear arguments Sept. 22 on whether Whiteclay in
Nebraska actually is part of the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota.
The reservation is just north of Whiteclay, across the
South Dakota border. The argument over jurisdiction came up
Tuesday, when an attorney representing nine American Indian
activists challenged the jurisdiction of Nebraska State
Patrol troopers in arrests made during a march on Whiteclay
in July. The men are charged with failing to comply with a
lawful order and obstructing a police officer, both
misdemeanors.
One of the defendants, American Indian Movement leader
Russell Means, promised that legal experts and historians
would support the contention that Whiteclay actually lies
within the boundaries of the reservation as established by
a federal treaty with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Oglala Sioux leaders on the reservation have called for
shutting down Whiteclay's four liquor stores, which sell
millions of dollars in beer each year, mainly to residents
of the alcohol-free reservation.
Indian Tensions Rise in So. Dakota
Date: 9/2/99 8:57:53 PM GMT Daylight Time
From: AOL News
.c The Associated Press
By JOE KAFKA
PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) - It's been nearly three months since two Sioux men were found slain
in a culvert near the Nebraska line, and many Indians doubt authorities even care whether
they solve the crime.
In fact, some Indian activists say the apparent standstill in the investigation only
confirms their suspicion that white Nebraska lawmen helped kill Wilson Black Elk Jr. and
Ronald Hard Heart or helped cover up the crime to make it seem as if Indians were
responsible.
``It's just two dead Indians to them,'' Tom Poor Bear, who was Black Elk's half-brother
and Hard Heart's cousin, said of the FBI. ``If these were two white people who were
murdered, this place would be swarming with FBI agents. They'd be turning over every blade
of grass.''
The deaths have led to violent protests and heightened long-standing tensions between
whites and the Oglala Sioux from the poor and desolate Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The FBI says it is doing all it can. And the sheriff's department in Sheridan County,
Neb., denies having any role in the killings or discriminating against Indians. But those
statements do little to diminish the distrust on the reservation.
Many of the bad feelings stem from the American Indian Movement's 1973 armed takeover of a
trading post at nearby Wounded Knee in a protest over the government's handling of
complaints about Indian affairs. In 71 days of unrest, two Indians were killed and a
deputy marshal was wounded.
White-vs.-Indian tensions also run high on South Dakota's eight other reservations, where
unemployment often is staggering and alcoholism widespread.
In Mobridge, S.D., just across the Missouri River from the Standing Rock Sioux Indian
Reservation, Indians have rallied to protest the way authorities have handled the death
earlier this summer of Robert ``Boo'' Many Horses, 22, whose body was found face-down in a
garbage can.
The autopsy found that Many Horses died of alcohol poisoning. Four white teen-agers who
were drinking with him the night he died have been charged - one with manslaughter, for
allegedly stuffing him in the can.
Indians are angry that the defendants are free as they await trial, while three Indians
accused of severely beating a white man near Pine Ridge in August were denied bail.
``There is deep-rooted racism in South Dakota, and it can't be denied,'' said Alfred Bone
Shirt, who is on the Lakota Nation Human Rights Committee. Lakota is the name some Sioux
call themselves.
Indians have held a series of protests over both the Pine Ridge slayings and alcohol sales
in tiny Whiteclay, Neb., where a few stores do a brisk business selling beer and booze to
Sioux. Alcohol is banned at Pine Ridge, just two miles from Whiteclay.
During the first march, in June, several people attacked a store, threw soda, cigarettes
and other items into the street, and set fires in the building.
Before a rally the following week, the town's 22 residents were evacuated, and 100
troopers met the marchers in riot gear. Several demonstrators were arrested for crossing a
police line.
Soon after, a group of Indians set up tents and tepees at ``Camp Justice,'' near a grove
of stunted elm trees on a hill overlooking the spot where the bodies were found. Poor Bear
and about a dozen others have vowed to stay there until the crime is solved.
``All I want to do is have my brother rest in peace,'' said Edward Hard
Heart. ``Right now his spirit is wandering around, and he won't rest until
we find out who killed him.''
Few details of the investigation have emerged. The FBI has shown autopsy
results to the families but said releasing the results publicly might compromise
the investigation. Poor Bear, who helped identify Black Elk's body, said the man
was severely beaten.
Mark Vukelich, the FBI agent overseeing the investigation, said his agency
and tribal police are making every effort to find who killed the men. A
$15,000 reward for information has been offered.
``Because these remain in the unsolved category, they receive the highest
priority,'' Vukelich said. ``I disagree that we're not doing all we can.''
Vukelich would not say whether Sheridan County law officers are being
investigated. ``We are investigating all angles of this case,'' he said.
``That includes anybody who had any involvement in the crime scene.''
Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins said his department played no role
in the deaths. As for allegations of racism, he said: ``I have no idea why
that sentiment is there, other than we have a large influx of Native Americans
into our county and there is a number of them arrested. We try to treat
everybody as equals, no matter what race, color or creed.
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 7:03 PM
REMEMBER DUDLEY GEORGE!
<+=<+KOLA Newslist<+=<+
Four Years after the fatal OPP Riot at Ipperwash -
JOIN THE LABOUR DAY PARADE
Sept. 6, 1999
Gathering at 8:30 am at Armoury and University
Avenue (one block north of
Queen Street West, on the east side).
Bring Drums, placards, water, comfortable
shoes.
Parade route is along Queen West to the Dufferin Gates of the CNE.
Parade participants enter the "EX" for free.
***Join us at the front of the Parade.***
In commemoration of the sacrifices made by the
Aboriginal Rights
protestors at Ipperwash, and the human rights violations they experienced,
the Coalition for a Public Inquiry into the Death of Dudley George has been
asked to join the lead contingent of this massive annual labor movement
parade.
PARADE LEAVES AT 9:15 AM
don't be late or you'll miss us.
******************
The Truth Must Come Out.
******************
An Injury to One is an Injury to All.
******************
The Coalition for a Public Inquiry into the Death of Dudley George.
Info: 416-537-3520.
Published Wednesday
September 01, 1999
9 Arrested at Whiteclay Protest Contest
Authority Over Land
BY DAVID HENDEE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Rushville, Neb. - Nine American Indian activists arrested earlier this summer
during a standoff at a border village with state troopers are taking their fight to the
courts.
Rather than enter pleas Tuesday in Sheridan County Court, the group - including
noted activist Russell Means - filed papers challenging Nebraska's jurisdiction in
their misdemeanor criminal cases.
Judge Charles Plantz scheduled a Sept. 22 hearing on the jurisdiction question.
John Freundenburg, deputy county attorney, said he had no objection to the move.
The 16-minute hearing Tuesday was the first legal step taken by the Indians to
use their court case to argue Indian treaty claims to Whiteclay, an unincorporated
village 21 miles north of Rushville in northwest Nebraska. The town is adjacent to
the Oglala Sioux's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The defendants said they will have experts From Nebraska, Colorado and South
Dakota testify that a turn-of-the-century executive order by President Theodore
Roosevelt illegally took Whiteclay out of the reservation.
"We own Whiteclay," Means said after the hearing. "Nebraska does not have
jurisdiction. In no way shape or form can they violate our rights. We are going to
force Nebraska to follow the law . . . and return what they stole - our property."
Means and the others were charged with obstructing a police officer and failure to
comply with a lawful order during a July 3 march to Whiteclay from the nearby
village of Pine Ridge, S.D.
They led a group of 650 Indians protesting the sale of beer in Whiteclay and the
unsolved slayings of two men found on the reservation.
Means said the charges against the nine are examples of racism in Nebraska's
court system.
"We have the State of Nebraska here attempting to put nine people who want to
stop alcoholism, who want to stop alcohol sales . . . in jail," he said. "It
just seems
to me this world is upside down. We refuse to accept this kind of continuing
racism."
The 59-year-old Means is a widely known leader for the American Indian
Movement. He has a ranch in Porcupine, S.D., and appeared in the movie "The
Last of the Mohicans."
He said he was looking forward to his day in court because "we always win."
Among the nine defendants are Frank LaMere, 49, a Winnebago Indian from South
Sioux City, Neb., and Tom Poor Bear, 44, an Oglala Sioux from Wanblee, S.D., who
has been organizing the weekend marches to Whiteclay. Poor Bear is a half
brother to one of the slain men and a cousin to the other.
LaMere said it is clear to him that Whiteclay is Oglala land.
"We in Nebraska are trespassers," he said. "I hope that we will be able to
come
together and right this wrong. As Nebraskans we should be better than this."
LaMere said American Indians from all tribes in Nebraska support the Oglala in
the land dispute.
"I was honored to be arrested with my relatives on July 3, and it will be a great
honor to see this through with them," he said.
Means said he will call on all Nebraska tribes to join Indians from the South
Dakota reservations of Pine Ridge, Rosebud and Yankton to march Oct. 4 in
Lincoln when the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission meets.
He said he hoped to have a lawsuit filed by then alleging that issuing licenses to
sell beer in Whiteclay violates federal and tribal law.
Means also said a march is planned at the federal courthouse in Lincoln to protest
attempts to close down the Santee Sioux Tribe's casino in northeastern Nebraska
and efforts to jail tribal leaders.
Whiteclay has been the target of anger and frustration among the protesters since
the bodies of the two Indians were found June 8. The town's four beer-selling
stores sell 4 million cans of beer a year, mostly to Indians from the reservation.
Possession and consumption of beer is banned by law on the reservation, but the
alcoholism rate there may run as high as 85 percent.
In addition to LaMere, Means and Poor Bear, the other defendants are Benedict L.
Black Elk, 36, Pine Ridge; Vaughn J. Lodge, 22, no home listed; Gary L. Moore, 36,
Pine Ridge; Webster Poor Bear, 48, Wanblee; Allen C.Sheppard, 23, Agency
Village, S.D.; and John W. Steele, 52, Manderson, S.D.
Lodge and Sheppard did not attend the hearing.
Tuesday, August 31, 1999
EPA Settles Indian Tribe's
Water-Pollution Suit
DENVER--The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to study why children have become
sick after playing in a river that runs through a South Dakota Indian reservation as part
of the settlement
of a lawsuit, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.
The Oglala Sioux Indian tribe and six South
Dakota environmental groups settled the suit, which had accused the EPA of failing to
enforce water pollution laws in that state, the lawyers
said. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, where the EPA has its
headquarters for the region that includes South Dakota.
Plaintiffs' lawyer James Tutchton said the case was settled because the EPA had agreed to
do much of what his side had sought. The agency agreed to determine whether the Cheyenne
River,
which runs through the Pine Ridge Reservation in southern South Dakota, meets U.S.
water-quality standards, Tutchton said. The EPA also will look into why reservation
children who
play in the river have become ill, he said. "We agreed to use our best efforts for
the next
two years through monetary or technical assistance to investigate the problems" on
the Cheyenne River, EPA lawyer Margaret Livingston said in confirming the details of the
settlement. The settlement also came about because state authorities, after the case was
filed, began conducting water-quality studies on three other bodies of water that had been
the subject of
the lawsuit, Tutchton said. They are the Big Sioux River and Lake Cochrane, both in
eastern South Dakota, and Strawberry Creek in the Black Hills.
Sent: Monday, August 30, 1999 6:01 PM
Costner's "invisible" Dunbar
Resort...
<+=<+KOLA Newslist<+=<+
Just called the Dunbar Resort, because we couldn't
find the darn place... These past years we tried
several times to find the construction site, but
people in Deadwood were not very helpful. There
was no official address either. This morning,
however, we checked this year's Rapid City area
phone directory, and found a "The Dunbar" listed
in Lead -- twin city with Deadwood. It was worth
a try. Bingo! We got connected to the new offices
of Costner's (planned) resort in the Black Hills.
The secretary was not very helpful. In fact, she
sounded like an old broken record... "We are not
giving out any details" was the only phrase she
replied to any of our questions.
* Where is the resort located?
* How far are construction works?
* When will you open?
* We know the statue [of a buffalo] is finished,
is it at the premises yet?
etc. ...
So, we called the Deadwood Police next and spoke
to a female officer, who was very friendly and
started laughing when we asked where the resort was.
"It is supposed to be on Deadwood Hill, but you can
call yourself very lucky if you find as much as one
brick!"
I asked if she meant that construction hadn't
started yet... Yes, that's exactly what's going
on!!! After all these years, after all the
"promising" press releases by the Costner bros
and the rumor that it would open in June 1999...
construction has not even started yet!!! All
they have been doing all these years is
landscape planning.
The police lady told us that Dan Costner now
permanently resides in Deadwood, and that we
could "catch" him any day at the Midnight Star
casino, on Deadwood's Main Street.
We called the Midnight Star next, and yes,
indeed, Dan Costner is there... and despite
rumors saying this casino was sold, the Midnight
Star still is owned and operated by the Costner
brothers.
Phyllis and I are going to Deadwood tomorrow
or Wednesday. We'll take some pics of the
Darned Resort -- well, of the still untouched
woods... (and hope it will remain that way.)
And next we'll try to meet Dan Costner.
The Dunbar has a mailing address -- that's
all they have [grin]. So, anybody who wants
to drop Kevin & Dan Costner a line, here's
where to send it to:
The Dunbar
108 Fairview Ave
Lead, South Dakota 57754
Phone (605) 578-1111
They seem to have dropped the word "resort"
from The Dunbar. Instead of building a gigantic
casino/hotel/golf/ski/etc resort; this project
seems to be getting smaller every day; even
the name gets shorter. :)
You can also reach the Costner bros at:
The Midnight Star
677 Main Street
Deadwood, SD 57732
Phone (605) 578-1555
For more info on the Costner's resort/plans,
please visit:
http://users.skynet.be/kola/costner.htm
*********************************
Published Saturday
August 28, 1999
State Patrol to Visit Whiteclay
BY DAVID HENDEE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Working from a small camper, two or three Nebraska State Patrol officers will be in
Whiteclay, Neb., today to take complaints about alleged liquor-law violations there.
Oglala Sioux activists from the adjoining Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South
Dakota have complained in recent months that beer sellers in Whiteclay violate
Nebraska liquor laws by selling to intoxicated and underage people.
The activists are seeking to shut down the village's four beer stores, which sell
about 4 million cans of beer a year to reservation Indians.
Today's action by the patrol is an outgrowth of a meeting held last week in
Chadron, Neb., by Nebraska state officials and tribal leaders. Gov. Mike Johanns
has repeatedly said allegations of liquor-law violations must be filed as official
complaints before the state can investigate.
Patrol investigators will look into the complaints before possibly advancing them to
the State Liquor Control Commission for investigation, said Terri Teuber, a patrol
spokeswoman.
Since late June, Whiteclay has been the site of weekend demonstrations by
activists protesting beer sales to Indians and calling attention to the unsolved
deaths of two Indian men. The activists plan to march again today for the 10th
consecutive Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Oglala Tribal Court has not yet ruled on a request by activists for
tribal jurisdiction in Whiteclay and an injunction against the village's four
beer-sellers. Activists filed suit last week seeking the injunction.
Whiteclay is just outside the reservation, but activists say old treaties indicate that
it should be under Indian control.
___________________________________________________________________________
<+=<+KOLA Newslist<+=<+
Eagle Butte News, Vol. 90, No. 33
August 19, 1999 - p.1
MITIGATION BILL PASSES CONGRESS; AWAITS
CLINTON SIGNATURE
The Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration bill,
commonly known as the Mitigation Act, has been passed by
both houses of the US congress and awaits the signature
of President Clinton to become law. The bill, which was
originally passed last year, was repealed in the US House
of Representatives in late July; then revised in
conference committee before its final passage on Aug. 5
as part of the Water Resource Development Act of 1999.
The implementation of the act awaits the passage of a
separate funding authorizationm which is expected in
September.
The bill will transfer approximately 200 square miles
of land lost to the construction of the Missouri River
Dams from the US Army Corps of Engineers to the State
of South Dakota, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and
the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. It will also establish
trust funds for wildlife habitat restoration, develop
recreational sites, provide public access and protect
archaeological, historical and cultural sites along the
Missouri River.
The Mitigation Act is a piece of a larger bill, which
provides for other water and conservation projects, and
authorizes various construction by the Secretary of the
Army. Some of those projects, not the Mitigation Bill
itself, were in disputem leading to the House repeal.
Those issues were resolved in conference committee,
and on August 5 the final version was passed and
published in the congressional record.
The bill has been amended to include language extending
local jurisdiction (state or tribal as appropriate) to
the water's edge, as opposed to a legal land description
for the boundary. The amendment was added to alleviate
fears that a strip of land would be left between the
legal division line and the water of the lake, with no
clear definition of jurisdiction in the area.
The mitigation bill has aroused a storm of protest, both
from five South Dakota tribes who did not participate
and from individuals within the Cheyenne River and Lower
Brule Sioux Tribes. They say their chief concern is the
return of traditional treaty landsm those on the west
bank of the Missouri River, to the State of South Dakota
and the possible quantification of water rights through
a study of the effects of the transfer on the flow of
the river.
A group of protestors has been camped on LaFramboise
Island near Pierre since March 22, and has permission to
remain until Aug. 21. They maintain their treaty rights
are being violated by the transfer and met with the Red
Earth Coalition (of the Black Hills Treaty Council) and
representatives of the five tribes to plan their next
move.
The five opposing tribes are the Standing Rock Sioux
Tribe, the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux
Tribe.
Al Lundy, Pierre Capital Journal, reports tribal
chairmen have been invited by Standing Rock chairman
Charles Murphy to a summit in Fort Yates, ND. Members
of the Black Hills Treaty Council and Red Earth
Coalition planned a meeting at Pine Ridge the same
day. Both groups will be discussing what action to
take next.
Charmaine White Face, media coordinator for the
Black Hills Treaty Council, says there will probably
be legal action, but as a last resort, because it is
so expensive.
--
TRACKING MITIGATION
There are two legislative tracks in Congress dealing with
water projects, the Missouri River and the Mitigation
Act. The Act provides for the transfer of certain lands
managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers to the State
of South Dakota and the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule
Sioux Tribes.
One track is the Water Resource Development Act of
1999 which has been approved by both the US House of
Representatives and the US Senate. WRDA is the
congressional authorization of a long list of water projects
across the country, which also now includes
the language from the Mitigation Act approved last
October.
The other track is the Energy and Water Appropriation
Bill which has been approved by both houses, but in
different forms. That legislation provides funds for
projects that have been authorized.
On July 27, it was the appropriation bill that was
amended to provide for a repeal of the Mitigation Act
which had been approved in October of 1998. Because of
that amendment and other differences between the House
and Senate versions, the appropriation bill is still
being considered by a conference committee.
According to staff members in the office of US Senator
Tom Daschle, D-SD, the Aug. 5 approval of WRDA by both
the House and Senate means the Mitigation Act will stand,
even of the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is
approved with the Mitigation Act repealer.
Al Lundy
Capital Journal Staff
==
___________________________________________________________________________
<+=<+KOLA Newslist<+=<+
August 21, 1999
Indians Await Action on Claim to
Whiteclay
BY DAVID HENDEE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
http://www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,3153,206600,00.html
American Indian activist Tom Poor Bear said Friday he
expects the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court to claim jurisdiction
over Whiteclay, Neb., next week and send tribal police
across the state line to close the village's four beer businesses.
Poor Bear also said he and other tribal leaders were
disappointed that no solution to the issue came out of a
meeting Thursday with Nebraska officials.
Activists filed papers seeking an injunction Tuesday in
tribal court on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation claiming
that a strip of northwest Nebraska land, including
Whiteclay south of the reservation, is legally Indian land.
Whiteclay has been the target of tribal criticism because
its businesses sell beer to Indians who can't legally buy or
possess it on the nearby South Dakota reservation.
"My patience is tiring on this, and my frustration is
larger," Poor Bear said. "One way or another, we're going
to shut Whiteclay down."
The tribal court, however, is waiting to decide whether it
has jurisdiction over the matter. It will review documents
from Nebraska and South Dakota that describe the exact
boundary between the two states.
Chief Judge Patrick Lee and Judge Vincent Brewer said
that if the boundaries of the two states as established by
Congress identify the same boundary line, then the
dispute will be a question for the federal courts.
The tribal court action is the latest in a series of
efforts to stop what Indian activists call excessive
alcohol sales in Whiteclay. Two-mile protest marches from
the village of Pine Ridge to Whiteclay have taken place
weekly since June, after two Oglala men were found beaten
to death on the reservation. Protest organizers say beer
sales in the village contributed to the slayings, which
remain unsolved.
Poor Bear said he is considering asking American Indian
Movement leaders to join another big rally in Whiteclay to
keep attention focused on the issues.
He said he told Nebraska officials at the Thursday meeting
at Chadron State College that if the state didn't have the
power to stop alcohol sales in Whiteclay, the Oglala Nation
did.
"It wasn't a threat," he said. "It was a statement."
Pascual Marquez, a U.S. Justice Department conciliation
specialist from Kansas City, Mo., mediated the Chadron
meeting. While not disclosing details of what was said at
the session, Marquez said the Nebraskans indicated their
desire and willingness to help address and resolve the
issues.
"Part of the discussion that took place was to explain that
under due process, certain things have to happen," he said.
"There have to be complaints, they have to be filed and
people must be willing to identify themselves, then it can
be looked into."
The state team was led by Chris Peterson, policy secretary
of the Health and Human Services Department. Others
included Lt. Col. Mike Behm of the Nebraska State Patrol;
Laurie Camp, deputy attorney general; Judi Morgan,
executive director of the Nebraska Indian Commission; and
Ken Vampola, a Winnebago tribal judge.
In addition to Poor Bear, the Oglala contingent included
President Harold Salway; William "Shorty" Brewer, executive
director of tribal public safety;and Floyd Hand and Chief
Oliver Red Cloud of the tribe's traditional leadership.
There are no plans for a second meeting of the groups.
_______________________________________________________________
Court documents filed to annex Whiteclay
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- American Indians filed an
injunction in Oglala Sioux Tribal Court this week asking
the court to close down Whiteclay, a Nebraska border town
notorious among Indians for selling beer.
The lawsuit claims that under the 1887 Dawes Act, a strip
of Nebraska land including Whiteclay south of the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation is legally Indian land, said Tom
Poor Bear, an Oglala activist. The court is waiting to
decide whether it has jurisdiction over the matter until
it gets documents from Nebraska and South Dakota that
describe the exact boundary between the two states, said
chief Judge Patrick Lee.
Those boundaries were set out in the acts of Congress
establishing territories or states, called enabling acts.
"If the Nebraska enabling act and the South Dakota enabling
act identify the same boundary line, then it looks to me
like it's going to be a federal question," Lee said
Thursday. Lee declined to release the papers, which were
filed Tuesday, until all the necessary documents are
collected.
The move is the latest in a series of efforts to stop what
Indians call abusive alcohol sales in Whiteclay. They have
also alleged mistreatment by Nebraska law enforcement.
Protest marches from Pine Ridge to Whiteclay have taken
place weekly since June, after two Oglala men were found
beaten to death near the reservation. The first march led
to fires and looting. Protest organizers say beer sales in
the village contributed to the murders, which remain
unsolved.
U.S. Attorney Ted McBride and FBI Supervisory Special Agent
Mark Vukelich met with relatives of the victims last week
in Rapid City. The officials showed family members the
autopsy results but could not make the results public
because doing so might compromise the investigation,
Vukelich said.
Poor Bear, the half brother of one murder victim and a
cousin of the other, said he has a higher opinion of
efforts to solve the murders since the meeting. "I didn't
feel better because there's no progress in the
investigation. I didn't feel better because Whiteclay is
still open. But I felt better that at least I heard where
they are coming from," he said.
Protesters will continue to hold weekly marches, and a camp
of American Indians will remain at the site near the border
where the murder victims' bodies were found, he said.
The FBI is waiting for evidence to come back from the
laboratory, Vukelich said. "There's quite a number of
examinations that we've requested, and these take time,
unfortunately, longer than we'd like," Vukelich said. He
said the public has offered few leads despite a $15,000
reward and a recent episode of "America's Most Wanted" that
profiled the case. Poor Bear said that may be because of a
lack of trust on the reservation. "A lot of our people are
not cooperating with the FBI because of the way the FBI has
treated us," he said.
Leaders of the American Indian Movement, who were at the
first march on Whiteclay, are still monitoring the
situation, Poor Bear said. "They are in full support," he
said. "If we need them I will call them." But Poor Bear
emphasized that the effort was being led by Oglala tribal
members. Pine Ridge should not monopolize the American
Indian Movement's attention, Poor Bear said. "Every
reservation has a Whiteclay," he said.
Pascual Marquez, a Department of Justice conciliator in
Kansas City, Mo., is organizing a task force to improve
communication between state and federal officials and
tribal members.
Poor Bear told a reporter he and Oglala Sioux Tribal
President Harold Salway were to meet Thursday with Nebraska
Gov. Mike Johanns in Chadron. A spokesman for Johanns said
no such meeting was planned.
______________________________________________________________________
Subject: Unity Prayer Ride - Update #2
RIDE TO UNITE CAMP JUSTICE, OCETI SAKOWIN,
AND THE MINNEHAHA FREE STATE
August 18, 1999After losing a day to search for
lost horses, Eon Ka Mani
and Pte Tatonke Tipi alter the route to make up for lost time. They will follow
the new route to Buffalo Gap before making camp, and in the morning they
will ride east to Oceti Sakowin. The riders expect to cover 30-50miles per day.
Ride Support told me this morning, "They
were thirty miles out of White
Clay when they lost the horses. They stopped for the night, and in the
morning the horses where gone. We finally found them at a watering hole
near Allen..." Ride Support also informed me that the Big Foot Riders
will be joining this ride from Pipestone to Minneapolis.
Since the riders will not be granting
pre-planned interviews or
photo-ops for the press, the article at http://www.robworld.net/unity/
and the updates at
http://www.robworld.net/unity/maps.html are
considered public domain for all interested parties who would not
otherwise be able to cover the ride. The more enthusiastic journalist
will do well to intercept them at the site of one of the occupations.
Their next planned stop is at Oceti Sakowin,
the La Framboise Island
Occupation, which they should reach within the next few days.
Mitakuye Oyasin.
Rob Callahan
______________________________________________________________________
Court documents filed to annex Whiteclay
BY JOSHUA KUCERA The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- American Indians filed an
injunction in Oglala Sioux Tribal Court this week asking the court to close
down Whiteclay, a Nebraska border town notorious among Indians for selling
beer.
The lawsuit claims that under the 1887 Dawes Act, a
strip of Nebraska land including Whiteclay south of the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation is legally Indian land, said Tom Poor Bear, an Oglala activist.
The court is waiting to decide whether it has jurisdiction over the matter
until it gets documents from Nebraska and South Dakota that describe the
exact boundary between the two states, said chief Judge Patrick Lee.
Those boundaries were set out in the acts of Congress
establishing territories or states, called enabling acts. "If the Nebraska
enabling act and the South Dakota enabling act identify the same boundary
line, then it looks to me like it's going to be a federal question," Lee said
Thursday.
Lee declined to release the papers, which were filed Tuesday, until all the
necessary documents are collected. The move is the latest in a series of
efforts to stop what Indians call abusive alcohol sales in Whiteclay. They
have also alleged mistreatment by Nebraska law enforcement.
Protest marches from Pine Ridge to Whiteclay have taken
place weekly since June, after two Oglala men were found beaten to death
near the reservation. The first march led to fires and looting. Protest
organizers say beer sales in the village contributed to the murders, which
remain unsolved.
U.S. Attorney Ted McBride and FBI Supervisory Special
Agent Mark Vukelich met with relatives of the victims last week in Rapid
City. The officials showed family members the autopsy results but could not
make the results public because doing so might compromise the
investigation, Vukelich said.
Poor Bear, the half brother of one murder victim and a
cousin of the other, said he has a higher opinion of efforts to solve the
murders since the meeting. "I didn't feel better because there's no
progress in the investigation. I didn't feel better because Whiteclay is
still open. But I felt better that at least I heard where they are coming
from," he said.
Protesters will continue to hold weekly marches, and a
camp of American Indians will remain at the site near the border where the
murder victims' bodies were found, he said.
The FBI is waiting for evidence to come back from the
laboratory, Vukelich said. "There's quite a number of examinations that
we've requested, and these take time, unfortunately, longer than we'd
like," Vukelich said. He said the public has offered few leads despite a
$15,000 reward and a recent episode of "America's Most Wanted" that
profiled the case. Poor Bear said that may be because of a lack of trust on
the reservation. "A lot of our people are not cooperating with the FBI
because of the way the FBI has treated us," he said.
Leaders of the American Indian Movement, who were at the
first march on Whiteclay, are still monitoring the situation, Poor Bear
said. "They are in full support," he said. "If we need them I will call
them." But Poor Bear emphasized that the effort was being led by Oglala
tribal members. Pine Ridge should not monopolize the American Indian
Movement's attention, Poor Bear said.
"Every reservation has a Whiteclay," he said.
Pascual Marquez, a Department of Justice conciliator in
Kansas City, Mo., is organizing a task force to improve communication
between state and federal officials and tribal members.
Poor Bear told a reporter he and Oglala Sioux Tribal
President Harold Salway were to meet Thursday with Nebraska Gov. Mike
Johanns in Chadron. A spokesman for Johanns said no such meeting was
planned
__________________________________________________________________________
Indians decide to keep protest encampment
Thursday, August 19, 1999
Al Lundy
The protesters on La Framboise Island will stay
on the
island for the time being. The plan is to stay at least until sometime in
September when Congress is expected to act on the Energy and Water
Appropriation Bill still pending. "By consensus, the Black Hills Treaty Council
has decided to continue to support the camp," said Eileen Iron Cloud, Porcupine.
The camp was established on the island on March
22 to protest the Mitigation Act
which allows the transfer of land held and managed by the corps along the
Missouri River to the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule tribes and to the state
of South Dakota. The protesters have said the transfer violates the Fort Laramie
Treaty of 1868. The Mitigation Act was originally approved by Congress in October
of 1998. The U.S. House of Representatives had voted July 27 to amend the
Energy and Water Appropriation Bill to provide for a repeal of the Mitigation Act.
Because of that and other differences with the Senate version, the appropriation
bill is still pending. On Aug. 5, just before adjourning for the August recess,
Congress again passed the Mitigation Act through an amendment to the
Water Resource Development Act of 1999.
According to staff members of U.S. Sen. Tom
Daschle, D-S.D., the approval of the
language of the Mitigation Act in WRDA means the Mitigation Act will stand, even
if its repealer is finally approved by both houses in the appropriation bill.
Members of the Black Hills Treaty Council and
representatives from several of
the tribes met in two separate meetings Tuesday and Wednesday to consider
what to do next. "We are continuing our letter writing campaign including letters
to the president," said Shirley Marvin, administrator of the Department of
Water and Natural Resources, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
In addition, the tribal councils of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe all plan to
pass resolutions in opposition to the Mitigation Act, Marvin said.
"Under the 1868 Treaty, we still own the land along the river," Marvin said.
The resolutions will call for no land transfers to occur under the Mitigation Act
until the treaty issues are addressed, she said.
The tribes opposing the Mitigation Act are
planning a trip to Washington the first
week in September when Congress goes back into session, Marvin said.
"We'll talk to anyone who will listen," she said.
The protesters on the island have permission to
camp there until Aug. 21 as
they protest the land transfer. Since March 22, the corps has allowed the protesters
to camp in the area normally off limits to overnight recreation, and has renewed that
permission several times.
______________________________________________
RAPID CITY S.D.
Aura of racism in Rapid Creek deaths
By Jennifer Peterka
Today staff
RAPID CITY, S.D. - Eight bodies have been found in Rapid Creek within
the last 14 months, three of them in the last month and a half.
All of them were males between 33 and 56 and all but two were American
Indian. The county's chief deputy sheriff concedes,
"There is something wrong, something dreadfully wrong."
The body of Timothy Bull Bear Sr., 47, of Allen, was pulled From the
creek July 8, by the Rapid City/Pennington County
Dive Rescue Team. His body was found near Orchard Lane in Rapid
Valley. Investigators said that there is no apparent
cause of death and they are unsure of how his body got in the creek.
Many homeless, who live under bridges and in makeshift shelters along
Rapid Creek, are increasingly concerned about
their safety. Some even fear for their lives.
Everyone who lives down here knows that you have to watch out for
yourself and be very careful where you sleep or
even who you talk to or your body will be found floating in the creek
next," said a transient who wished to remain
anonymous.
In 1997 there was a single death along the creek. In just the past 14
months there were five in 1998 and so far this year
three more.
"This has never happened before, where there have been so many deaths
in the creek in such a short period of time," said
Pennington County Sheriff's Chief Deputy De Glassgow.
Sheriff Don Holloway said there are no results yet From an autopsy to
determine his cause of death.
The bodies of Arthur Chamberlain, 45, From Lake Andes, and Dirk
Bartling, 44, of Gregory, were found less than two
weeks apart, in close proximity near downtown Rapid City.
Chamberlain's body was found June 7 near Steele Street off of East
Omaha by a passerby on the city's bike path.
Glassgow said this death was ruled as a drowning and Chamberlain's
blood-alcohol level was .26 percent.
May 29, the body of Bartling, a white male, was found in the creek at
Roosevelt Park. Investigators said they are still
uncertain how his body got in the creek. His death was ruled as a
drowning as a result of severe intoxication. His blood
alcohol level was .288 percent, almost three times the limit for drunk
driving charges.
Officials are increasingly concerned about the deaths and are now
thinking it is more than coincidence that this many
people have died in the creek. Unlike the first five deaths, foul play
has not been so easily ruled out. in the deaths of Bull
Bear, Chamberlain and Bartling
"There is something wrong, something dreadfully wrong. In all eight
deaths, the cases remain open and active. We will
investigate until we know what has happened. There are just too many
people dying in the creek," said Glassgow.
"We think maybe somebody is doing it, although we don't have any
conclusive evidence. It's now a little more than
coincidental," said Doug Austin director of the City/County Alcohol
and Drug Program.
The first death in the more recent series in Rapid Creek was that of
Benjamin Paul Long Wolf, 36, of Martin. His body
was found May 21, 1998, under the Sixth Street bridge. Even though -
according to his death certificate - Long Wolf
was found with moderate swelling in his head, his death was ruled an
accident.
Ten days later, on May 31, the body of George Hatten Jr., 56, a
transient was found in the creek near a drainage ditch
on the north side of the West Boulevard bridge. His death also was
ruled an accident even though marks were found
around his neck, according to the death certificate
Both death certificates attributed the deaths to being "extremely
intoxicated and fell or passed out in Rapid Creek."
Cause of death - drowning due to severe intoxication.
Members of Long Wolf's family question the manner of his death. "I
don't think he drowned. I think someone killed him
and threw him in the water. He was a pretty good swimmer and the creek
isn't that deep,ÓÓ said Ruth Janis-Salway, Long
Wolf's mother.
"I don't think it was an accident. As far as I know it was just ruled
out as an accident. I don't think it was very thoroughly
investigated. Somebody must of pushed him off the bridge and he hit
his head or they must of held his head under water.
Something is really strange about his death," said Hope Conquering
Bear, Long Wolf's sister.
Allen Hough, a 42 year old, white male From Rapid City, was found dead
in Rapid Creek on July 4, 1998. Rapid City
Police Department Captain Craig Tieszen said there was no evidence of
foul play in Hough's death and his cause of death
also was listed as drowning.
Randelle Two Crow, 48, From White Horse was the third American Indian
male to be found dead at Rapid Creek. Two
Crow, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, was found Dec. 8,
1998, in a pool of water near the creek bank
under the East Boulevard bridge, near downtown Rapid City.
Investigators of the Rapid City Police Department and the Pennington
County Sheriff's Office, believe Two Crow died
some time the night before, while sleeping under the bridge. An
autopsy determined his cause of death was an extremely
high blood alcohol level of .515 percent. His death was also ruled an
accident.
Loren Two Bulls, 33, From Rapid City was a member of the Oglala Sioux
Tribe and a well-known artist. His body was
found Dec. 9, 1998, between East Boulevard and Maple Avenue, about a
half-block From where Two Crow was found
the day before. His cause of death was also listed as severe alcohol
toxicity with a blood alcohol level of .531 percent.
After Two Crow's and Two Bulls' deaths, the Rapid City Police
Department and the Pennington County Sheriff's
Department opened a probe of the first five deaths.
The month-long investigation found no new evidence casting doubt on
the original causes of death or tying the first five
deaths together. Tieszen said that the investigations did not indicate
any foul play.
Other than the location, investigation has not demonstrated that any
of the five deaths are in anyway connected, Tieszen
said. In the 23 years he has been with the Rapid City Police
Department, he has never seen this many deaths in the creek
in one year.
"We still don't have any credible information to suggest these were
felonious deaths," said Tieszen.
Glassgow said the cases are still open and the police and sheriff's
departments are actively investigating them.
"We will continue to investigate until there are no longer any leads,"
Glassgow said.
Still, many members of the city's American Indian community and the
transient population are left wondering if the deaths
are murder and, if so, who is doing it.
Many transients, who often sleep under the bridges along Rapid Creek,
believe a racist group of young adult or teen-age
white males are responsible and say they harass American Indians they
find along the creek.
Howard Pretends Eagle said he is afraid to sleep near the creek
because of the deaths. Instead, he now finds shelter with
friends, relatives or in other nonconspicuous places within the city.
Pretends Eagle said he has been harassed by a carload of teen-age
white males who tried to chase him down with their
car. He reported the incident to the police department with surprising
results. "They tried to arrest me. It doesn't do any
good to report crimes against the homeless."
This seems to be the attitude of many other homeless American Indians
interviewed. They are afraid to report incidents to
police because they may be intoxicated or have outstanding warrants
for their arrests. They do not want to be arrested or
taken to detox. They also feel that when they make reports to the
police department, their complaints are note treated
fairly.
"When I've made reports to the police department, they tell me it
didn't happen," Rick Afraid of Hawk said.
"I have never been harassed by police as much in any other city, as I
have been here in Rapid City," said a transient
passing through Rapid City.
Tieszen said that although he has heard the rumors of a racist group
causing the deaths, "there is no evidence whatsoever
that there was any ÉÉ foul play in any of the deaths. Not a single
person has come forward with first-hand information that
the rumors are true." Tieszen added that if anyone has any information
that would prove otherwise, to please come
forward.
Glassgow said other rumors have surfaced that members of an American
Indian gang are causing the deaths, but there is
no evidence to substantiate the claims.
According to assistant U.S. Attorney Ted McBride, three hate crimes
have been reported in the state this year - an
assault and two vandalism crimes that were racially motivated. "Many
crimes may not be reported as hate crimes, but it
doesn't appear to be a big problem in South Dakota."
Official update From the Oglala Lakota
organizers of CAMP JUSTICE.
CAMP JUSTICE
For Immediate Release
July 20, 1999
CAMP JUSTICE, Oglala Lakota Nation, South Dakota:
-On July 4, 1999, the Oglala Lakota Nation declared it's independence with
the development of CAMP JUSTICE. 16 days later, the encampment remains;
gaining National and International support and recognition in it's efforts
to find justice for the Oglala Lakota Oyate (people).
-CAMP JUSTICE will continue to exist until justice is served and our demands
are met with Federal and Nebraska state officials. The CAMP and the WALK
FOR JUSTICE are reminders to the Nation and the State of Nebraska that we must
not forget the brutal murders that have taken place in and around White Clay,
Nebraska:
Wally Black Elk, Ron Hard Heart, Martin Young Bull Bear, Francis
Thunder Hawk, Rich Big Crow, Little John Means, Thomas Twiss, Don
Bordeaux, Dennis Cross, Raymond Yellow Thunder, and others.
-Representatives for CAMP JUSTICE provided the Federal and state officials
with the following list of demands for justice:
1. Demand a full and complete investigation on all human and civil
rights violations which have occurred in Sheridan County, NE since the
legalized hanging of Lakota people ceased, to the present day murders of
Martin Bull Bear, Ron Hard Heart, Wally Black Elk, Little John Means,
and many others.
2. Immediate closure of all alcohol establishments in White Clay
until a license is issued by the Secretary of the Interior or his representative.
See 1904 Presidential Executive Order.
3. Return of original designated Pine Ridge Agency lands (which
includes White Clay, NE) as noted in the 1868 Treaty with the U.S.
Government.
4. Creation of a permanent Civil Rights Office in Sheridan County,
NE to address human and civil rights violations against indigenous
Lakota people.
5. Immediate removal of Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins for
cover-up of Deputy Randy Metcalf's criminal activities against indigenous
Lakota people.
6. Establish a law requiring data collection on all traffic stops to
include state, county, and municipal law enforcement to record
the race of every motorist they stop. See North Carolina law.
-On July 10, 1999, on the WALK FOR JUSTICE, eviction notices were posted on
four alcohol establishments and 1 grocery store in the controversial village of
White Clay, NE. Treaty law states that alcohol cannot be sold within the proximity of
an Indian Agency. Pine Ridge Agency is a dry reservation. To date, there are 20 days
left to vacate the premises. Appropriate measures will be taken if these business
owners fail to comply. Organizers are calling for an ECONOMIC BOYCOTT of Nebraska
retailers until demands are met.
-Recently, rumors indicated that CAMP JUSTICE was shutting down. On the
contrary, the Camp will remain until justice prevails! Additionally, organizers say
they will continue the WALK FOR JUSTICE every Saturday until justice is served.
-This release will serve as an open invitation encouraging all Spiritual
Leaders, Clergymen, Alcohol/Drug Treatment/Prevention Programs, OST Dept. of Public
Safety, OST Council Representatives, concerned citizens of Nebraska, M.A.D.D., etc.
to join the WALK FOR JUSTICE to bring national awareness of the ethnic
cleansing that is taking place in this border town called White Clay, NE. The next march
is scheduled for July 24, 1999 at Bill Mills Hall in Pine Ridge Village. The
march will begin at 12:00 p.m. followed by a peaceful rally in White Clay, NE.
For more information, contact Dale Looks Twice or Floyd Hand at (605)
867-5762
CAMP JUSTICE internet/email Liaison
Mike Wicks
Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com
Red Alert * Red
Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert *
Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert
MENDOTA ALERT
Today, July 20th, 1999 at 10:10a.m., ranking officers From the Minnesota
State Troopers and Minneapolis Police Department came the Minnehaha
Spiritual Encampment. Camp Member, Thunder, approached the ranking State
Trooper and asked him why they had come here today. He was told that they
were at camp to "take a look around." Thunder asked if they were here to
take any action today against the camp. The officer informed him that they
were not here to take any action today, against the camp, but to take a
look around to see when they do take action what type of action they need
to take. The officer asked him if the camp has a sweat lodge, and Thunder
pointed to the lodge. The officer asked him if this was the same lodge
that we had at the last camp. Thunder said that yes it was, and that he
should know that because he was the officer that dismantled the sweat lodge
during the last raid on December 20th of 1998. He said that if they need
to dismantle the lodge again, they would make sure that it was returned.
The Police and State Troopers also had with them a MnDoT official and a
representative of Thommes and Thomas, a land clearing firm based out of
Stillwater, Minnesota. The land destroyer From Thommes and Thomas had a
clip-board and was taking notes on the trees in the area, including the
FOUR SACRED TREES, that have been at the center of the struggle to protect
this land for the last year. This is the calm before the storm, and now is
the time that we must act before they bring their machines to desecrate
this sacred ground.
We need you, and we need you now. If you have ever felt moved by this
struggle, and would be willing to come down and camp with us, now is the
time. THE RIGHT OF WAY CLEARING FOR THE REROUTE OF HIGHWAY 55 IS SCHEDULED
TO BEGIN BY AUGUST 2ND OF THIS YEAR. BECAUSE OF THIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE
POLICE AND STATE TROOPERS, WE BELIEVE THAT THEY WILL RAID THE CAMP BEFORE
THAT DATE. We need wave upon wave of people to form a human ring around
the four sacred trees and stand with us in prayer and resistance around the
sacred fire that has burned since August 10th of 1998. This is a place of
prayer and its sacredness has been testified to by spiritual elders From
six different First Nations. We need people willing to risk arrest to
stand up for the sacredness of this land, to protect the trees, Camp
Coldwater Spring, and for the human rights of Native Americans to freedom
of religion. This place is a church to all Native Americans, what would
you do if this was your church facing the bulldozers?
Our spirit is not crushed. MnDoT will never pave over our prayers, and if
we stand united and strong we still can save this land for the future
generations.
We ask all people of conscience to call the Mayor's office, the Governor's
Office and even the President of the United States and demand that this
re-route of Highway 55 be Stopped immediately, and that this land between
Minnehaha Falls and Camp Coldwater Spring be protected for all time.
We also ask that you call and fax these two companies that have been
awarded the contract for the destruction of the trees and land:
C.S McCrossan Inc.
7865 Jefferson Highway
Maple Grove, MN
phone (612) 425-4167
fax (612) 425-0520
fax (612) 425-1255
Thommes and Thomas
15457 Jeffrey N.
Hugo, MN 55038
phone (651) 430-2535
Please ask them to think long and hard about the injustices of this road.
That it violates human rights, makes little sense and will destroy beloved
Minnehaha Park. Then tell them that they may be opening themselves up to
lawsuits. Then let them know that they have been warned, in a non-violent
and spiritual way. We must let them know that this is not just a "job",
and that we are not against the workers. Remind them that we are
non-violent. Let them know that MnDoT does have alternatives available
that will still provide work. Unions and workers should not be involved in
projects that have strong community opposition, and that violate
fundamental human and constitutional rights.
Also:
On August 10th, 1999 join us for our one year anniversary of standing up to
the bulldozers and of protecting the sacred sites that lie in the path of
the reroute of Highway 55.
were: at the spiritual encampment. Take Highway 55 (Hiawatha Ave.) south
to 54th Street and go left at the light. Go past one driveway and take the
second driveway on the right that goes down to a stop light and the Bureau
of Mines buildings. The Camp is on the left, and you will see the parked
cars.
when: Starting at 4:00pm and going till sundown.
what: feast/potluck, Thunder Nation Drum Group, stories shared From the
last year, a video and photo presentation, and music.
August 8th, 1999, Join us for our Second Annual Pow Wow Down at the Mendota
Spiritual Encampment ( Same Address as Above)
3:00 p.m. onwards.
for more information Contact:
Jim Anderson: Cultural Chairman of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota
Community (612) 910-0730
Pidamaya.
live simply
http://www.aics.org/mendota.html
*************************
A transcript From the Statement received by Della Eastman EDC-AIM
From Tom Cheyenne -
Remember La Framboise Island
On March 22, 1999, in Pierre, the South Dakota capitol, more than 200 Lakota
people and non-Indian supporters protested a rider to the 1999 Omnibus
Appropriations Act. Commonly called the Mitigation Act, or Restoration Act,
the long title is: Title, VI, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule
Sioux Tribe, and state of South Dakota Wildlife Restoration Act.
Realizing the Lakota are one of the smallest nations in the world confronting
the most powerful nation on the Earth, the people choose to confront this
major problem, with spiritual ceremonies. Following the directions given in
a sacred ceremony, a tippee was erected on LaFramboise Island which is
located in the middle of the Missouri River and connected to the East bank in
Pierre by a causeway. Lakota people say the island is treaty land. A sacred
fire, representing the first fire of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires),
symbolizing the original Seven Tribes of the Lakota Nation was ignited. The
flame has continued to burn constantly since March 22nd, and is to remain
lit until a Congressional Oversight Hearing is conducted. The Lakota men who
watch over the fire say Congress must be made aware that the two treaties
were violated.
The Lakota people also say they are presenting the United States with a
gift; they are providing the United States an opportunity to right a major
wrong, they are providing the gift of integrity.
Members From the Christian Peacemaker Teams, an international human rights
monitoring organization based in Chicago, live in the camp on LaFramboise
Island with the Lakota and monitor all activities. Harassment by the public
and law enforcement officials, including a drive-by shooting, have occurred.
A Brief History of the Treaties with the Sioux
Each society has a foundation which its laws are established, in the case of
the United States of America, that foundation has been a written constitution
based upon the principles to guide the moral and ethical direction of the
people. At the time of the writing of the Constitution, the United States
was a very small, fledgling nation. The Constitutional writers knew the
power and importance of having the ability and the trust of another nations
in order to be able to survive. Therefore, Article, VI of the Constitution
stated that treaties were the supreme law of the land. This enabled them to
form alliances and keep their boundaries intact. It also enabled them to be
able to conduct trade and other activities to forge strong foreign
relationships.
Prior to the Civil Ware, the US government realized in 1851 that they needed
to come to some sort of agreement with a large nation of people if settlers
were ever to go overland to the Northwest. They mistakenly called these
people the Sioux. The Indian people called themselves Lakota, Dakota, and
Nakota. A treaty was signed with only a handful of Sioux men. The entire
nation was much larger. According to a map released by the US Geological
Survey in 1911 and reprinted in 1929, the territory of the Sioux people prior
to 1868 reached over 12 states and three Canadian provinces.
Following the end of the Civil War, by the year 1868, the US once again
increased its westward expansion. However, they were again hampered in their
efforts to reach the gold fields of Montana by the Sioux. In 1868, another
treaty was signed with the Lakota people, the largest of the three
subnations. That treaty was ratified by the US Congress and could not be
changed unless three-fourths of all adult Lakota males agreed to any changes.
It was a peace treaty and allowed roads and railroads to be built around a
vast land area on the northern plains. This land area was called the Great
Sioux Reservation and encompasses all of western South Dakota.
The boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation extend From the East bank of
the Missouri River beginning at the forty-six parallel of north latitude,
following the Missouri River south to the northern line of the state of
Nebraska, then west along the Nebraska State line to the one hundred and
fourth degree longitude, turning north along that longitude to intercept the
forty six north latitude, and again following the north latitude east until
it met the River. It was also agreed that the land north of the North Platte
River in Nebraska (which would include the controversial town of White Clay,
NE) and east of the summits of the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming and Montana
would be unceded Indian territory. (This was similar to the DMZ separating
north and South Korea.) No white person would be allowed to settle in, or
pass through that specific land area.
The Black Hills were, and still are, considered a holy place by not only
Sioux people but also many other indigenous nations as well. The yellow
metal so frequently found there was called "the metal that makes men crazy."
It was called gold by the Americans and caused the Americans to begin passing
their own laws trying to justify why they should be allowed into the Great
Sioux Reservation. Those laws violated their own Constitution as well as the
Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.
In 1889, an Act was passed that created the states of North and South Dakota
among otherwise. A commission was sent to try to gather the three-fourths
Lakota adult male votes to insure the 1868 Treaty was followed. A starve or
sign policy was implemented. Many non-Indian and non-Lakota signatures, as
well as those of women, children and the deceased were presented to Congress
as lawful signatures. Congress declared the Act of 1889 legal. The people
of the Great Sioux Nation were divided and placed on separate reservations.
Upon learning the English language and the American Court System, the Lakota
nation again persevered in the struggle to regain the original Great Sioux
Reservation. In 1880, the US Supreme Court ruled that the taking of the
Black Hills by gold seekers and others was illegal. However, instead of
returning the land back to the Lakota people, as would have happened in other
cases, the Supreme Court offered money to the Lakota people. Instead, the
Lakota said, "The sacred Black Hills are not for sale" The money was placed
in a bank where it sits gaining interest today. In the meantime, the Lakota
continue to live as the most impoverished people on the continent.
The most recent effort at theft of land that is protected under the Fort
Laramie Treaty of 1868, took the guise of a rider on the 1999 Omnibus
Appropriations Act. In 1998, Senator Tom Daschia, D-SD, the minority leader
of the Senate, tried to have the measure passed under a Public Works bill in
the House of Representatives. It was defeated when the Committee learned
that a treaty was involved. Daschia, working with the republican governor of
South Dakota, William Janklow, then inserted the rider into the 1999 Omnibus
Appropriations Bill bypassing the public hearing process. They also
convinced the governing bodies of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, to become parties to the Act. The Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribe has since passed a resolution asking for a Congressional
Oversight Hearing and have stated the language they agreed to in the original
bill was changed.
For further information contact:
The Oceti Sakowin Camp at LaFramboise Island at 605-222-1780,
The Christian Peacemaker Team on the Island at 605-222-2999,
Vernon Schmidt at 605-747-2269,
Emily Iron Cloud-Koenen at 605-455-2193,
or visit the web site at www.fireonprairie.org
*********************************
**********************
Last call in Pine Ridge
For the Lakotas in White Clay, Nebraska, death is on the house
by Ben Corbett
White Clay, Nebraska ... A dusty little rural slum with 10 crumbling
buildings, population 22. Bleached signs creaking on rusty hooks in
the scant breeze. Walls sagging under the weight of a merciless sun,
paint blistering. An empty pop can rolls down the main drag, clinking
along past paper sacks flattened in the gutter. Overhead, a buzzard
silhouettes the thermals of a cloudless sky. Crickets chirp in the
weed-lined street as George Strait moans a top-10 croaker through the
gills of a single-speaker AM radio. Flies buzzing. Wind exhaling
another empty morning. And the sun beats down ...
Around noon, a brace of spit-shined Nebraska state police cruisers file
in, staging themselves throughout White Clay, A/C warding off the
scalding sun behind dark glass. Looking towards Pine Ridge, two miles
away, heat risers swirl in eddies on the baking asphalt. First the
chants are heard, a funeral dirge wailed to the steady pounding of a
drum. Then, like a mirage, a throng of Lakotas appears on the vaporous
horizon led by two Tribal Police units. Stop for prayers. Onward.
Stop for prayers. Onward. Children. Elders. Fighters. The people.
Hokahey!
The troopers in White Clay check their weapons. They've gone over the
tactical formation a dozen times. The word is out to hold back on force
until the last possible moment. We don't want an outbreak like last
week, Jim. Federal orders. Let's keep our cool on this one. Eyes on the
road. Waiting.
The protesters, a wall of flesh, cross the Pine Ridge reservation border
and the Nebraska state line in the same step. 200 yards to go. Prayer
stick held high. The war cry goes up, Yooowwwwoooooppp Woooop Woooop!
The coup stick is thrown skyward. They head for the primary target, a
local watering hole called the Arrowhead Inn, and the first eviction
notice is taped to the wall:
NOTICE
THE OGLALA LAKOTA OYATE, BEING THE LANDLORDS AND CARETAKERS OF
THIS LAND YOU CALL WHITE CLAY, DO HEREBY GIVE YOU NOTICE TO CEASE
AND DESIST THE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. FURTHERMORE, AS THE
LAWFUL OWNERS OF THIS LAND UNDER THE 1803, 1851, AND 1868 TREATIES
WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, WE DO HEREBY TERMINATE YOUR LEASE, AS
WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY LEASE PAYMENTS SINCE THE LAND WAS
ILLEGALLY TRANSFERRED IN 1904.
YOU HAVE 30 DAYS TO VACATE THE PREMISES. LEGAL ACTION WILL OCCUR
IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH THIS NOTICE.
The coup stick strikes the air. 200 fists are raised. The war cry goes
up again.
VJ's Market is next. The eviction posting is repeated a half dozen
times as the cops sit dumbstruck; white knuckles grip fast the steering
wheels. They don't realize they've just been shamed in the Lakota
manner of counting coup. They don't realize they've been defeated. That
the joke is on them. This is a victory for the Oglala Lakotas. Another
battle won in the long war of endurance against white lies, violence,
hatred, racism, oppression, murder.
Bodies by the road
"It has to stop," says Tom Poor Bear, cooling off his sweat-beaded brow
with a soft drink after the sweltering march. "Indian people are found
dead all over here and nobody does anything about it. If these were two
white people found murdered here, this place would be swarming with law
enforcement."
Poor Bear is a brother of Wilson Black Elk, 40, one the latest victims
found murdered just yards inside the Pine Ridge Reservation line. On
June 8, the mangled bodies of Black Elk and Ronald Hard Heart, 39, were
found side by side in the waist-deep grass of a roadside ravine,
brutally beaten to death. After seeing little or no investigation of
the murders, Poor Bear put in a call to the American Indian Movement
(AIM), asking for assistance in getting action on the uninvestigated
murders.
"Indian people in his country are still hunted," says Russell Means,
co-founder of AIM and a resident of Pine Ridge. "In the last five
years, there have been over a dozen uninvestigated murders of Indian
people who have been beaten to death on Pine Ridge. The coroner always
says the cause of death was, not trauma to the head, but exposure. And
they're buried without fanfare."
The coroner in question is a forensic pathologist From Scottsbluff,
Nebraska, whose jurisdiction covers Sheridan County and White Clay.
"This guy has a bad track record of doing a thorough autopsy," says
Poor Bear. "Take Anna Mae Aquash for instance, a very strong Indian
woman. She was found murdered on the reservation (1976), and her body
was sent to Scottsbluff for autopsy. The pathologist ruled she died of
exposure. So we exhumed her body, sent it to Rapid City for a second
opinion, and found out she was shot in the back of the head. And also a
man named Bishnette who was killed by a BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs)
officer and sent to Scottsbluff for autopsy. They ruled he was killed
with one shot. We exhumed his body, and he was shot eleven times."
Poor Bear spends the next few minutes running down a list of names From
memory of Lakotas murdered and quickly buried with the coroner's
catch-all "exposure" rulings.
The uninvestigated deaths in White Clay date to the 1972 fatal beating
of Raymond Yellow Thunder, whose death spurred a 71-day siege of the
Wounded Knee hamlet led by the newly formed American Indian Movement.
"Yellow Thunder was beaten and thrown into the American Legion half
naked," says Poor Bear, who also took part in the Wounded Knee siege.
"And later on he was beaten to death by two brothers and found dead in
an abandoned car. These people just got slaps on the wrists and walked
away."
Mere manslaughter charges have become the staple consequence in
reservation border towns for killing Indians. Only two men have been
convicted to date in South Dakota of any of the killings.
"Everyone who kills an Indian here gets exonerated by all-white juries,"
says Means. "The racism is endemic in the conscious and subconscious of
America. But nobody cares. We're out of sight, out of mind."
Enter Charlie Wade
White Clay, an unincorporated town, enjoyed upwards of $4 million in
liquor sales last year, 99 percent of which was poured down Indian
throats. That's approximately 2,800 cans of beer sold everyday to
Lakota patrons, who are forbidden by federal law to purchase and
consume alcohol on the reservation only two miles away. Day in and day
out, carloads of Indians stream into White Clay to purchase groceries
and cold six-packs From white business owners hawking the forbidden
wares. But what to make of these staggering figures?
"I'll tell you like I told any other reporter," says Terry Robbins,
sheriff of Sheridan County Nebraska. "The United States tried to go
through a prohibition and they found out years ago it didn't work. If
you've got demand, businesses pop up."
As for the murders, protesters and families of the recently slain
suspect a local Sheridan County deputy sheriff who patrols White Clay.
From the descriptions, the man is a walking, talking Charlie Wade
incarnate, straight off the set of John Sayles' controversial film,
Lone Star.
"He has a history of verbally and physically abusing Indian people,"
says Poor Bear. "He comes into White Clay and puts on big black gloves,
lead-lined, and he physically hits the Lakota people. Personally, I
feel he should be one of the top suspects in this."
Poor Bear adds that AIM has witnesses and statements From Lakotas who
have suffered the man's abuse.
"He's admitted to beating Indians in his custody when he has arrested
them," says Russell Means. "However, he's still deputy sheriff."
If this deputy sheriff were, in fact, implicated in the murders, what
action would the Sheridan County sheriff take?
"Well," says Sheriff Robbins, "first the investigation would have to
show there was some implications, and as far as I know there's not been
any implications. All I know is that's just a rumor. It don't help
matters when they put it in the paper and on TV. They're just
a-fuel in' the fire."
Weeks before the bodies were found, according to a second brother of
the slain man, threats were made to Wilson Black Elk. He owed a tab to
a White Clay bar owner, who threatened to "get my boys to handle it,"
if the bill weren't paid promptly. Who are "my boys"?
"Skinheads From Rushville," the brother says, "or else the deputy
sheriff." Distrust lurks behind the warm eyes of Lakotas, who are
calling the string of murders serial killings. They fear that both the
Sheridan County authorities and the entire population of White Clay are
covering up the slayings.
"Sheridan County does have a history of racism. There is white
supremacist activity," adds Poor Bear, citing a White Clay proprietor
as an example. "He is a known white supremacist who has come out and
beat people in wheelchairs. His wife was known to pour hot water on
people who stand in front of his store."
And the fire rages ...
The Eagle Has Landed
Downtown Pine Ridge. Another sweltering day on the Rez. A cruel 110 in
the shade. Big Bat's gas pumps are jammed with brand new pickup trucks
and beat-up sedans, fender wells rotted out. Down the street, a few
people are tacking starched new flags to the trees, a rare novelty in
this island of Indian Country. A charter coach rolls up to a Tribal
Police car to ask directions. The bus is stuffed with Secret Service
agents, snipers, uniformed goons armed to the teeth, plain clothes
Indian infiltrators to mingle with the locals. Then, in rolls the press,
an army of stressed-out catch-the-next-clip news junkies. Lakota elders
sit on their porches inwardly giggling at the display rolling out before
their eyes. The circus is in town. A three-ring sensual feast of
lugubrious politicking.
Presidents avoid Indian issues like the plague, so Bill Clinton's July 7
stop at Pine Ridge had a special ring to it. A certain irony for Mother
America's forgotten children, the Oglala Lakota. Clinton's Pine Ridge
stopover on his speed-tour of severely impoverished areas marked the
first time in history that a U.S. President made an appearance on an
American Indian reservation.
As the Commander in Chief's official Chinook chopper touched down, a
battalion of slack-jawed cameramen rushed forward clawing at each other
in an ignorant frenzy. The national press pushing the inexperienced
local reporters aside with a huff of the lungs, "excuse me." Shove.
Like wolves on steaming meat. What a thrill to get so close to the man
that you could reach out and slap him.
More Snake Oil, Mr. Bill?
After a storm of pat-downs, bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors,
placements of snipers, suspicious looks, and confiscated pocket knives,
the event at the Pine Ridge High campus gets underway. 2,000 heads,
including 100 tribal leaders From around the country look up, watching
with hungry eyes, wondering what's on the menu. More broken promises?
Could it possibly be for real this time?
First the invocation From Arvol Looking Horse, keeper of the sacred
white buffalo calf pipe. Then a speech From Harold Salway, President
of the Tribal Government:
"Nearly 60 percent of the young people on the reservation live in
poverty. Life expectancy for Oglala men is the lowest in the United
States. We have more than 4,000 families waiting for homes, and our
current housing stock is in serious disrepair. Twenty percent of Oglala
houses lack basic plumbing. The unemployment in our community is
recorded as high as 73 percent plus. But we have seen this rate soar
higher and higher and harder in worse times."
Not to mention the alcohol epidemic, a startling high school drop-out
rate, or one of the highest infant mortality rates in the western
hemisphere. Pine Ridge is well-known as the most economically distressed
locale in North America. Racked with these severe living standards, this
shadow land of progress has been continually swept aside by the
governmental hand. Discontent here is spiraling upward. But Clinton
offers relief. On this tour, armed with an entourage of senators, Jesse
Jackson, and a string of high-profile money moguls, the president
promises growth in depressed areas with his New Markets Initiative. The
idea is to issue major tax breaks to Fortune 500 companies willing to
invest.
"When we are on the verge of a new millennium when people are
celebrating the miracles of technology ..." The polished pork 'n' beans
drawl rolls over the sacred feathers of the elders' head dresses. "...
and the world grows closer and closer together, and our ability to learn
From and with each other, and make business partners with each other all
across our globe, and there's still reservations with few phones and no
banks, when still three or four families are forced to share two simple
rooms. When these things still persist, we cannot rest until we do
better. And trying is not enough. We have to have results."
Cheers, whistles, howls. Go Bill!
To the west of the field, 10 individuals are holding up "Free Leonard
Peltier" and "Honor the 1851 Treaty" signs, waving them at opportune
moments when Clinton's glance falls in that direction. Not even a wince.
During a silent spot when Clinton catches a breath, a brave woman
yells out, "Hey, Bill, why don't you let Leonard go free?" Not even a
blink. The event rolls on. The sweat pours down. The cameras click away
in a mania of break-neck shutter speeds.
"Thank you all for coming. Good-bye."
Another stick figure with a tall hat for the Lakota buffalo hide diary
in the long parade of time.
The next day, all those starched new flags dangling From the trees on
the main street the day before had disappeared.
As Long as the Grass Grows
"We want answers and we'll march until we get them," says Russell Means.
He's not surprised that Clinton stuck to the agenda without addressing
Peltier's release, the broken treaties, the rash of uninvestigated
Indian deaths. "I'll get arrested again, and again, if I have to."
Means, Dennis Banks, and Clyde Bellecourte, founding members of the
American Indian Movement, were three of nine arrested during the second
"March For Justice" held on July 3. A clash with hundreds of Nebraska
state police, decked out head-to-toe in the latest in armor technology,
trying to form a human barricade to prevent protesters From entering
White Clay. The nine were released soon afterward-orders From a Sheridan
County judge who, Means feels, got shaky at the thought of a throng of
angry Indians swarming the streets of Rushville.
"They figured out there's this thing called the Constitution," says
Means with a chuckle, addressing 200 ralliers at the July 7th march.
"Today they won't be trying to stop us."
Besides the murders and the alcohol sales, protesters refuse to
acknowledge Nebraska's claim to the White Clay area. Nebraska is
trespassing on Indian land, they say. The Lakota case against Nebraska
and the U.S. government is a complicated web of American deceit dating
to the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties, which describe Lakota title
to lands ranging From the Yellowstone River in the north, the Missouri
River to the east, and the North Platte River to the south-an area
nearly 100 times larger than the current reservation.
In 1874, George Armstrong Custer trespassed into the Black Hills on the
infamous Bozeman Trail, the only biway to the north, which happened to
run straight through Lakota lands. His mission? To spread propaganda
about recent discoveries of gold to money-hungry Easterners. What
better way to acquire Indian lands than to evoke a gold rush with mobs
of whites racing into the area, swarming through Indian lands. The
military would naturally be obliged to "protect" the white gold diggers
with force, using the clash to deliver an onslaught of crushing blows to
the Lakota. As planned, this happened, spawning the 1876 Great Sioux
War. And the rest is history. The treaty was violated by both the gold
diggers and the government who promised to protect the Indians against
white trespass.
As a result, the federal government raked off more than three-quarters
of Lakota lands, quickly opening them up for white settlers. Not
surprisingly, the lands taken included the gold rich Black Hills, and
all land near the valuable rivers.
In 1946, the Indian Claims Commission was formed, permitting American
Indian Nations to sue the U.S. government for land "takings" both legal
and illegal. If an Indian Nation could prove a "taking" occurred, that
Nation was entitled to compensation for losses suffered. In the early
1970s, the Lakota sued, a "taking" was demonstrated, and the Claims
Commission awarded a measly $17.5 million-the 1877 dollar value of the
stolen property. "In your dreams!" said the Lakotas. "We want our land
back."
Enter 1979. The U.S. Government crawled forward, admitting error in its
earlier calculations. "Yes, you people deserve interest on that $17.5
million. In our calculations, the new figure comes out to a round $105
million." A steal. "Forget it!" said the Lakota. "It's the land we
want."
Today that sum still sits untouched in a federal bank. The figure has
grown to a hefty $500 million since the 1970s, but the Lakotas adamantly
refuse to take the money. By doing so, they reason, it would seal the
shady deal.
"Americans cannot conceive of that type of thinking or that value
system," says Means. "That we'd rather suffer the misery of poverty
than to sell our holy land. You would think the world would look at us
in wonderment and awe instead of killing us."
The Coup Is Counted
After the rally, the file of Oglala marchers ease down an embankment to
"Camp Justice," a bivouac of protest with two massive tipi towering in
the velvet of sky. A tub of Indian soup simmering on the fire, cold
drinks, and good friends. The word is circulating that another Lakota,
known by all, was found yesterday floating face-down in Rapid Creek, a
mile From Rapid City. More stories circulate in whispers. Yet another
Lakota man was found yesterday beaten to death and stuffed into a
garbage can in Mobridge, a small town of Northern South Dakota.
Apparently, four rich white kids were apprehended in the murder. Their
bonds were $250K, but they were released the same day. Suspicions run
high. The numbers pile up. It never ends out here.
Through the buffalo grass you can see the spot where the bodies of
Black Elk and Hard Heart were found. A small triangular fence enshrouds
the site, tied with red prayer cloths and piled with sage and food
offerings so the departed spirits will have full stomachs on their
journey into the next world.
Tipi and human gatherings are not foreign to this shaded knoll. In the
late 1800s, White Clay was known as the Red Cloud Agency, where Chief
Red Cloud and his band resided during the winter months. His ponies
were undoubtedly tied to the same trees that the marchers shade
themselves under this very moment, the fir, the willow and dogwood.
"Red Cloud would be proud of us today," someone says.
Camp Justice will serve as a resting place, a center of protest until
the murders, the alcohol sales, and the treaty violations are answered
for. It stands as a testament that through decades of racial abuse and
deceit, the Lakotas share a lasting unity. A rare and enduring strength.
AIM and the Oglala people plan to stage marches every Saturday until
their demands are met.
"I'm a great believer," says Means, "in what Felix Cohen said in the
1920s. 'The American Indian is the miner's canary of freedom in this
country.' I'll tell you, the miner's canary is dead. But with these
marches to White Clay, maybe the miner's canary is being revived. We're
twitching. And we're saying 'America, wake up'. This is a rebirth of a
nation whose sole reason for existence is to be free. And that's what
we're gonna be again."
From: Mike Wicks < Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com
As can be seen by my previous post, the camp and the marches will
continue until JUSTICE is served. This means there are many people
From outside the area coming to participate. The people organizing
and hosting all this were just recently hit with tornados that have
actually wiped many homes right out of existence. They can use some
supplies. If you can't make it to Pine Ridge to support them in
person, maybe you can send something to help support the ones who
can make it. Feel free to include a note of encouragement! Items
may be sent via UPS or postal mail - if you have something larger
in mind, contact me. If you want to send money - please contact
either Floyd or Tom at the numbers below and work it out directly.
SUPPLIES Info, donations, etc.
Floyd Hand Phone: (605) 867-5762
Tom Poor Bear
150 Red Cloud Lane Phone: (605) 867-5821
Pine Ridge, SD
57772
Please remember these people are busy with organizing and coordinating,
and are spending a lot of time on the phone - don't call to just ask
"how are things going". It's alright to call to verify something, or
to make arrangements for a donation, but let's give them some time to
do what they are doing too, and that is standing up for all of us on
a very real Justice issue.
In struggle,
Mike
OGLALA LOKOTA OYATE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota: The Oglala Lakota Oyate's
WALK FOR JUSTICE coordinator Tom Poor Bear and others have established
a "CAMP JUSTICE" on the Nebraska and South Dakota borders near Whiteclay
Nebraska.
Whiteclay is an unincorporated border town that hails a population of 22,
yet generated $4,300,000 in liquor sales last year! This isolated hamlet
offers 4 liquor stores and 2 grocery stores and relies heavily on the
reservation to support it's likelihood. Because of it's desolate location,
area Nebraskans have taken an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude towards
Whiteclay. It is an eyesore and embarrassment to the people of Nebraska
and we would encourage them to call their governor, senator, congressmen
to shut down these liquor stores! We demand that the United States of
America honor our 1868 Treaty with the Great Sioux Nation and return
the land called White Clay to the Oglala Lakota Oyate!
"CAMP JUSTICE" is a reminder to our Nation and the State of Nebraska
that we as Oglala Lakota Oyate must not forget the brutal murders of
Wally Black Elk, Ron Hard Heart AND others. There have been 64 unsolved
murders on this reservation since 1973. "CAMP JUSTICE" will be here
until JUSTICE is served! Everyone concerned are welcome to participate
in our struggle for JUSTICE.
On Saturday, July 3, 1999, we marched to White Clay, NE only to be
stopped by a police barricade. As so-called "citizens" of the United
States, we believe that our constitutional rights have been violated!
The Oglala Lakota Oyate is planning another WALK FOR JUSTICE on Saturday,
July 10, 1999 starting at 10:00 AM. We will begin with a rally followed
by a peaceful march INTO WHITE CLAY, NE. WALK FOR JUSTICE will walk
every Saturday until JUSTICE is served.
For more information contact Dale Looks Twice (media coordinator)
or Floyd Hand at (605) 867-5762 or Russell Means at (605) 867-1025.
Published Thursday
July 22, 1999
Greater Federal Role Urged in Whiteclay
BY TODD VON KAMPEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Governors and members of Congress From Nebraska and
South Dakota will write to Attorney General Janet Reno
urging a greater federal role in resolving grievances
behind Oglala Sioux protests at Whiteclay, Neb., Rep. Bill
Barrett said Wednesday.
Agreement to send the letter was reached during a
30-minute conference call in which Nebraska Gov. Mike
Johanns reviewed issues raised by Oglala leaders and
protesters during his July 13 visit to Whiteclay and South
Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Barrett, R-Neb., said the letter will ask Reno to assign
the Justice Department's Community Relations Services
office, which specializes in conflict resolution, to
join talks with Indian leaders.
Pascual Marquez Sr., a Justice Department conciliation
specialist From Kansas City, accompanied Johanns on his
visit last week.
"I think there are a lot of voices speaking up there (on
the reservation) - many, many agendas," said Barrett, who
requested the briefing. Barrett's 3rd District includes
Whiteclay.
Tribal members, joined by several American Indian
Movement leaders, have walked From Pine Ridge, S.D., to
Whiteclay each Saturday since June 26. Protests have
centered on the unsolved slayings of two Oglala men and
the 4 million cans of beer sold annually by four Whiteclay
stores, most of it to residents of the officially
alcohol-free reservation.
AIM leaders also have asserted claims to a
50-square-mile area of Nebraska, including Whiteclay,
that the federal government included in the reservation
From 1882 to 1904 as a "buffer zone" against whiskey
traders.
U.S. Civil Rights Commission member Elsie Meeks, an
Oglala Sioux From rural Kyle, S.D., asked her colleagues
three weeks ago to urge Reno to devote more
investigators to the slayings.
"That's great - we're on the same page," Barrett said
when told of Meeks' request.
Barrett said Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb.,
also took part in the conference call with Johanns. Others were staff
members From the offices of South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow,
Reps. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., and John Thune, R-S.D., and
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.
JULY 8, 1999
PINE RIDGE, S.D. -- The last time Zona Fills the Pipe met an American president she was 19, and Calvin Coolidge occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
He also was the last U.S. president to visit her homelands on the Pine Ridge Reservation -- until President Clinton arrived here Wednesday.
Fills the Pipe, 90, awake since 5 a.m., withstood three hours of 90-degree heat. But she succeeded in getting a front-row seat to hear Clinton tout his New Markets Initiative -- a plan to encourage private business development in the nation's poorest communities.
The Oglala Lakota elder also was among a select few in a crowd of about 4,000 to receive a handshake From Clinton when his speech ended at Pine Ridge High School about 1:30 p.m. CDT. Fills the Pipe seized the moment.
"Welcome to Pine Ridge," she said. "God bless you, and God bless America." Clinton's New Markets tour began Monday in the rural highlands of Kentucky and will end today in the city streets of Los Angeles. The impoverished Pine Ridge Reservation marked the third of the four-day Clinton tour in which he is seeking to bring untapped business markets into the mainstream economy.
Wearing a gray pinstripe suit, white cotton shirt and cowboy boots, Clinton emerged From his helicopter Wednesday morning and was greeted by about a dozen tribal leaders wearing ceremonial eagle-feather headdresses.
Later, on a makeshift stage framed by tipi and large medicine wheels representing the four sacred directions, the president sat beneath a blistering sun, listening to the steady drumbeat and a prayer song by Arvol Looking Horse.
Then it was Clinton's turn to speak.
"We have in America almost 19 million new jobs," said Clinton. "We have the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for African-Americans and Hispanics. For over two years our country has had an unemployment rate below 5 percent. But here on this reservation, the unemployment rate is nearly 75 percent.
"That is wrong," he said. "We have to do something to change it and do it now.
"I ask you today, even as we remember the past, to think more about the future. We know well what the failings of the present and the past are," he said. "We know well the imperfect relationship that the United States and its governments have enjoyed with the tribal nations.
"But I have seen today not only poverty but promise. And I have seen enormous courage." Most of the tribal people, representing small and large tribes, share the same concerns as the Oglala Sioux Tribe, with housing and economic development topping their lists. And although Clinton's support to build new homes and create new jobs signaled hope for some, it also re-established doubt for others.
Many tribal leaders have seen decades of scant progress on tribal lands.
"Our reservations never should have got in this shape," said Jim Trudell, director of Nebraska's Santee Sioux Tribe's economic development department. He attended Wednesday's event. "They wouldn't be in this shape if big business and people outside the reservation would have stepped in years ago and helped." American Indians at Clinton's speech represented dozens of tribes nationwide. Three of Nebraska's tribal chairmen -- John Blackhawk, Butch Denny and Elmer Blackbird -- were among more than 100 tribal chairmen attending the event that Oglala Sioux Tribal President Harold Salway described as "a monumental gathering of Indian leadership From every corner of America." Earlier Wednesday morning, many Indian leaders attended a one-day, home ownership and economic development summit in nearby Rapid City, S.D. The Housing and Urban Development Department-sponsored conference announced several housing improvement initiatives. They included:
-- A plan to create 1,000 new Indian homeowners within the next three years, doubling the number of government-insured or guaranteed home mortgages.
-- Two of the nation's largest municipal securities underwriters -- Banc One and George K. Baum & Co. -- agreed to underwrite $300 million in bonds annually for the next five years to create a market for reservation mortgages. The bonds would raise $1.5 billion to be loaned to tribes.
-- HUD will award $1,635,626 in rural housing and economic development grants to be used on South Dakota reservations. The grants are part of about $8 million in rural housing grants awarded to tribes around the country. Nebraska will receive a $150,000 reservation housing grant.
Before his speech, Clinton, accompanied by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, South Dakota's two senators and FannieMae executive Franklin Raines, toured the reservation's Igloo neighborhood -- a collection of ramshackle shanties graphically underscoring housing conditions in America's poorest county.
Meanwhile, many Indian leaders praised Clinton for acknowledging Indian Country throughout his presidential term.
On Wednesday, he became the first president to visit an American Indian reservation since Franklin Roosevelt toured Cherokee country more than half a century ago. In 1994, Clinton said, he became the first president since James Monroe in the 1820s to invite Indian leaders to Washington, D.C., to discuss matters important to them.
"President Clinton's administration has done an excellent job in government-to-government relationships with tribes," said Claire Horejsi, a member of Washington's Hoh River Tribal Council. "It seems so ironic we're finally getting recognized." Said Reginald Bird Horse, a Lakota elder From North Dakota's Standing Rock Reservation: "I'm thankful he's able to come and get away From world problems. I'm glad he remembered Indian people."