A Commonwealth (State) For Native Americans

By Ken Hughes

How does that sound?
Not bad on the surface. The treaties of the 1800’s all suggest Native people had Nation status. Therefore they should be able to unite into one group and demand Commonwealth status. Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa, The Virgin Islands all have Commonwealth status. Why not the American Indian, probably the largest group of those mentioned?

Creating a Commonwealth would have many advantages. Representation in Congress, Recognition “ We Are The People”, pays attention to our sovereignty.

This would be a monumental undertaking. It could take years to accomplish. The benefits would be worth the efforts. How many more Indian children will be allowed to grow up uneducated, unemployed with nothing to look foreword to but alcoholism and despair?

Many issues would need to be resolved.
Tribal bickering, ]years of disagreements between tribes would need to set aside.
Corruption of tribal powers and funds would need to be dealt with.
A unified Government representing all the people, A Constitution fair to all would need to be drafted.

The best and brightest of the Tribes, young men and women could study all the governments and their rules and create a government minus the errors of the ages.
Funding could come from a Casino tax, tax on grazing rights, tax on business operating on the reservations. By creating an environment acceptable to outside business to come to the reservations creating jobs for the people.
The reservations could provide limited recreational sites for tourists. Most Western reservations are unencumbered open spaces.

I’ve been told this is an impossible task. They told the founding fathers the same thing in 1775. Through the ages , people have been given a thousand reasons things can't change. Yet things do change when the will is strong enough. The American Indian is the last of our citizens who not only can’t sit in the front of the bus; they can’t even get on the bus. It’s time all that changed. If the American Indian thinks any one in Washington is going to improve their lot they are badly mistaken. Only the Indian can make things change.

American Indians rise up go to war with the Whiteman. A war of words spoken in American Courts. Shout the message from the highest Mesas. Let the message ring through every valley. Fight for the rights of all Indian people.

to any young Brave with motivation and the energy who wishes to accept this challenge,
I am available as an up-paid advisor. I am an advocate not an Attorney.
Contact Ken Hughes at: uncleken@sbcglobal.net

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Casino Money Opens Doors To Politics

“Indian tribes that operate casinos are putting their money to work among the political elite.” This is the story by Frank Oliveri, Gannet News Service.

The tribes have learned this is a way to gain influence with Congress. Sue Shaffer, chairwoman of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua in Oregon, said her tribe is always had good relationships with political leaders, but casino wealth has helped it to expand their political base. “You know,” she said,“the thing is, in politics, dollars open doors.”

Campaign contributions from the tribes have increased to nearly $6.8 million in 2002 from $1,750 in 1990. In the 2004 election cycle, casino-operating tribes, so far, have given more than $4 million, which is on par with aerospace defense contractors, spacecraft builders and movie producers.

Casino wealth has made tribes popular with other interest groups seeking to form issue-based coalitions, hoping to make a difference on everything from civil rights to voting rights. For example:

The National Indian Gaming Association, which represents tribes operating casinos, has joined with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others to battle drunken driving.

The National Congress of American Indians joined other civil rights groups in calling for Native Hawaiians recognition, which is important because Native Hawaiians are indigenous peoples like American Indians and Native Alaskans.

Tribes joined a national effort to get out the vote for the November elections. Although Indians represent only a small percentage of voters across the nation, they could make a difference in states like South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma and Arizona where Indians are a significant population.

Tribes are working with other groups to help reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which needs to be done in 2007.

At local levels, tribes such as Sue Shaffer’s Umpqua in Oregon have joined groups to promote environmental concerns.

Other groups are hoping to get help on Native American core issues such as tribal sovereignty, reducing poverty and improving health care and education.

In 2002, Indian casinos took in $14.5 billion, according to the National Indian Gaming Association. There are 224 tribal
governments that run gaming operations.

Shaffer said political contributions are given to elected officials in both parties, which is reflective of recent trends in Indian gaming contributions. For example, in 1996 86 percent of tribal casino contributions was made to Democrats, In 2004, so far, Democrats are getting only 64 percent of tribal contributions.

“In general, tribes and tribal organizations are becoming more and more politically astute,” said Tad Johnson, special counsel to the Mille Lac Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota. “They are running in different circles now more than they did 20 years ago. They are dealing with politicians and financial folks that they didn’t have access to just a generation or so ago.”

Casinos have become the new buffalo of the 21st century!

This article has been edited from two stories, bylined Frank Oliveri, in the July 17th issue of The Arizona Republic.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Native American Film Exhibit Makes Mark In Hollywood

July 15, 2004 – 
www.socal.com
by
Priscilla Hwang

It's a funny thing in Hollywood scores of actors have played the part of American Indians in
big budget films, and yet the real Indians are hardly ever seen. Actor Roscoe Pond revealed to the public the true Indians in the film industry in his new exhibit, "Natives In Hollywood: How Far Have We Come?" this past weekend.

So exactly how far have the American Indians come in Hollywood? According to Pond, not very far at all. "A lot of Indians are really angry about being portrayed as just savages and evil people," Pond said. We've all seen it cowboys in their leather chaps shooting away at the Indians with their bows and arrows. And we've certainly heard the word "savage" being used to describe the Indians once too many times.

Pond's exhibit depicts exactly this, as dozens and dozens of movie posters out on display reveal white men chasing out the Indians. The wide range of posters puts on view Hollywood movies dating back from the 1930s up to the present. There is an undeniable theme running through films such as Tomahawk Territory (1952), Mohawk (1956), and Navajo Joe (1966). "All the Indians are white actors," Pond noted.

"My parents never raised me to be racist, so we just had to look at it as actors playing natives," Pond continued saying while pointing out actors such as Charlton Heston and Pierce Brosnan, who have all played Indians in their careers at one point. "Film has been around for years and Hollywood still it has that image of us," Pond stated.

Fortunately, things started to take a brighter turn in 1990 when the movie Dances With 
Wolves was released. According to Pond, Dances With Wolves was the first to open the door for native Americans. "In the nineties, things started coming to us to portray natives in a good light," Pond said. As the story goes, a civil war veteran, played by actor Kevin Costner, befriends a native tribe and sheds his white-man's ways.

Yet,  the true portrayal of native Americans are not found in big name Hollywood films, rather, they are illustrated in Independent films where celebrities such as Robert Redford have supported and opened doors for native American independent film makers. Native Americans make up only about 2 percent of the population, and Pond notes that "we do not have a very big audience, but it's growing through independent film." One of the most celebrated independent film in their industry is Smoke Signals, released in 1998, which portrays natives as real people dealing with real life issues.

"Smoke Signals saw natives as normal and not just the average savage or scalp hunters," Pond stated amusingly. Grand Avenue, released in 1996 on HBO, is another independent film which received rave reviews and placed number one on Pond's list. Grand Avenue portrays a native American family living in an urban city who deals with issues such as alcohol and murder. As Pond puts it, "it depicts natives in modern society."

Pond's exhibit truly captures the essence of Native Americans . His positive energy penetrates deep into his work and his enthusiasm reminds us that there is still light at the end of the tunnel. Hollywood still has a long way to go, but it is only a matter of time before Hollywood starts taking notice of all the talented native American actors and filmmakers. Native Americans may have not come as far as they wanted, but at this rate Hollywood better watch out because soon they'll be the ones trying to catch up.

Roscoe Pond's exhibit will be open to the public until August 29, 2004. Visit his website at http://www.nativeroscoe.com/
You can contact Priscilla Hwang : priscilla_hwang@yahoo.com

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Northwest Groups Rally For Salmon!

Northwest Indian tribal members, commercial fishermen and conservationists are soon going to Edinburgh, Scotland to try pressure PacificCorp’s parent company “Scottish Power”,  at the annual general stockholders meeting on July 23rd,  to give Pacific salmon a way to get over dams on the Klamath River,  
 
The coalition of tribes includes the Yurok, Hoopa. Karuk and Klamath and they hope to be able to get into the Scottish Power meeting as guests of stockholders and make their case to the company according to Craig Tucker of "Friends of the River", a conservation group. They are also talking to investment groups that hold major blocks of stock in Scottish Power.
 
“The investors and company need to see we have culture and traditions that have been there since the beginning of time,” said Troy Fletcher, executive director of the Yurok Tribe whose reservation lies along the lowest reach of the Klamath River. “They need to see their actions have a very real impact on our people.”
 
This collective group has met with Pacific Corp over the past two years discussing their desire to open 350 miles of habitat upstream of the dams to salmon. But,  when the utility company sent its application for a new operating license to the Federal Energy Regulatory commission last March, there was no proposal for restoring a salmon passage.
 
“Scottish Power has an international reputation as a green energy provider,” conservationist Tucker said. He believes once they hear the story of what is happening on the Klamath and what it is doing to the tribes, the commercial fishing industry and the environment they’ll want to help. 
 
Glen Spain of the Pacific Federation of Fishermen’s Association which represents California commercial salmon fishermen said it is important to educate the managers of Scottish Power about the cultural and economic harm their outdated hydroelectric dams are causing the people of the Klamath Basin.
 
Isn’t it amazing how a corporation in Scotland holds the fate of salmon on the Klamath River in Oregon.  Oh, the power of our global economy!
 
This story has been edited from an Associated Press article in the Yuma Daily Sun.
 
‘Natives In Hollywood – Then And Now’ Update
 
Roscoe Pond writes that “Approximately 52 Native men. women and children filed through my exhibit over the weekend of July 9th through 11th. The popular native posters were ‘Dance Me Outside’ and the 1970 cult hit, ‘Billy Jack’.”
 
The exhibit has been extended though August 29th. For more information go to http://www.nativeroscoe.com.    
 
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Please HelpTo Free Leonard Peltier

Submitted by Jean bedell- mashkikinabinais
     
   Please help in freeing Leonard Peltier. He represents the rest of Native America and other political prisoners who for centuries have been mistreated by our colonizers. He sacrificed for the cause for Indian people, Indian People who during the nineteen seventies and the Native civil rights days suffered because the rest of America didn’t want to listen or wake up to the demise and sad truths about our Native people.
   
   We as Indian people on this turtle island refuse to ever give up who we are as Native people or bend to unjust actions by others who would rather forget us and deny the real history and actions by our oppressors. Biimaadziiwin Anishinabeg, Gnoozhekaaning Ojibwe and the Oglala Lakota Nation Oyate- Mitakuyeoyasin, Nishinikwe email- andokikidaasowin@yahoo.com
 
   Statement from the David Cobb/Pat LaMarche Campaign on Leonard Peltier
July 12, 2004  - The Green Party Cobb/LaMarche campaign supports executive clemency for
Leonard Peltier. 
  
   For 28 years, this leader of the Native American Peoples has been
imprisoned following a trial in 1977 which featured perjured testimony,
coerced witnesses and the manufacturing of evidence, all before an
all-white jury and a problematic judge.  The government has since admitted in
open court that they cannot prove he is guilty of what he was convicted of,
and it has been revealed that the FBI withheld evidence from the trial  that
proves his innocence. Justice can only be served in this case by the granting of executive clemency.                     
David Cobb-  Candidate for President, Green Party of the U.S.
Patricia LaMarche - Candidate for Vice-President, Green Party of the U.S.
Campaign Manager:  Lynne Serpe  646-284-2759 lynne@votecobb.org
Media Contact:  Blair Bobier  414-354-1596  b2@bobierlaw.com 

   Another Link advocating support for Leonard PeltierFrom the Boston Area LPSG   As you know, the Kucinich campaign is doing all it can to influence the direction of the Democratic Party.  Thank you for your help in this regard. Now it's time to push OUR agenda:      
 
1. Clemency or parole for Leonard Peltier.  FREE LEONARD PELTIER!
2. Release of the thousands of documents on the Peltier case still withheld by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.      
3.  An inquiry into FBI misconduct on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation         in the 1970s.    
 
   The Kucinich campaign has already received draft letters from hundreds of supporters urging the inclusion of the values that we are passionate about in the Democratic platform.  In the next 24 hours, we'd like to double those numbers.    
 
   Please direct your letters by email or fax to Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.  She is co-chair of the Platform Committee and represents the district in Cleveland next to Dennis Kucinich. 
 
   Her contact information is as follows: Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones Fax: 216-751-8241 Email: stjcampaign@aol.com   Please don't hesitate.  Do it now and keep doing it.  Let's make Peltier's freedom an issue in Democratic Party politics.
 
ALERT!  Attention Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Minnesota supporters!  Your 7 states are part of the 20 states that will likely determine the outcome of the race for the White House.  Therefore, we ask you to make a special effort to fax or e-mail Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones  within the next 24 hours.  Send the message to the Democratic Party:
 
   We won't go away!  Free Leonard Peltier! Boston Area - Leonard Peltier Support Group PO Box 644 Boston, MA  02134 Web:  http://www.peltiersupport.org E-mail:  mailto:peltiersupport@riseup.net   

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

From Kokopelli's To Electric Warriors: Native American Culture Of Music

By Sandra Hale Schulman

Submitted by Ann Van Wert

From the swamps of the Everglades to the deserts of Santa Fe and the concrete canyons of Manhattan, the heartfelt music of Native America is getting off the reservation and into the mainstream of America.But how can a culture that many think of as dead or merely history make its presence felt in the complex and competitive world of modern American music?

In these pages are visions of some of the major Native American players, artists, musicians, activists, and singers as diverse as Bill Miller, Rita Coolidge, Joey Ramone, John Trudell, Hank Williams III and Wayne Newton. There are profiles of festivals, award shows, and songwriters in places as peaceful as the Smoky Mountains and as glitzy as the Las Vegas strip.Native American music: It’s not just for powwows anymore.

Sandra Hale Schulman is an entertainment writer, editor and journalist. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Variety, Country Music Magazine, and various Tribune Media publications. She is on the Board of Directors for the Native American Music Association (NAMA), and is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Raised in New York, she currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Chapter Nine - Into The Mainstream: NAMA
In the early 1990s’, a story on Florida band Tiger Tiger’s latest album "Dream Scout" was submitted to Billboard magazine as part of their bi-monthly column on the best unsigned talent in America. Several weeks went by and the story never ran. When the editor was asked why, they replied that they didn’t think it was something that any mainstream record labels would be interested in.

A year later Billboard published their first Spotlight issue - a special section devoted to just one subject - Native American Music. This nine page feature covered the big picture of the genre - while singling out the eight independent Native American music labels as well as the mainstream labels - Mercury, Warner Brothers, Capitol- that were picking up Native American artists.

The special section has run annually ever since. It quoted artists like Joanelle Nadine Romero who stressed that "It’s been difficult to find places where we can perform and be judged simply on the merits of our work. Since Native Music now includes so many different styles and sounds, the need to break out of the reservation is more important than ever."

"Part of the process is educating our own people," admitted Tom Bee, president of SOAR Records. "We strive to book our contemporary artists at traditional Indian gatherings so people can see and hear for themselves what’s happening in their musical culture. It’s the first step toward the mainstream."

Legitimizing Native American Music as a format is the current goal of marketing and public relations visionary Ellen Bello. She is based in a New York City office on the aptly named Avenue of the Americas, where sage burns next to computers and stacks of CDs and magazines. Bello is almost single handedly taking Native American music to the masses.

As the founder of In-Press Communications - a national public relations, management and marketing firm that specialized in recording artists, In-Press became the first firm to represent Native American artists Robbie Robertson, Rita Coolidge & Walela, Mirabal, Songcatchers, Burning Sky, Pura Fe and Red Thunder.

Bello was responsible for securing performances for her artists at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta Georgia, the Democratic National Convention and at Presidential Inaugural Balls. She has served as a judge at the Gathering Of Nations and has contributed to the New York weekly The Village Voice. She has no Indian heritage, but her spirit is as strong as a full-blood.

"This is a genre that just won’t let me go," says Bello. "When I first heard this music I was blown away by the heart and struggle of it. The key to all this is creating the same things that other formats have, like weekly charts (collected from radio stations across the country), a website, an association (the Native American Music Association, formed in 1996) and an awards show.

The first Native American Music Awards show was held on May 24, 1998 at the enormously successful Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which is owned by the Pequot tribe. The show served as a who’s who in Native America and played a major role in educating the public about Native Americans in the arts - people that range from Jimi Hendrix to Elvis Presley, James Dean, Willie Nelson and ebullient host Wayne Newton.

Presenters included Joe Walsh, Bruce Cockburn, Richie Havens and John Trudell. Live performances were interspersed with 20 award presentations, plus a Lifetime Achievement Award for Robbie Robertson’s tireless efforts in both music and the Native American rights struggle.The success of the event led to international press coverage, plans for a compilation CD of the winners and an international tour.

The event was filmed and broadcast on the A&E channel. Bello also has begun compiling an archive of music and a TV show to highlight Native American dance. NAMA’s website (www.nativeamericanmusic.com) got 10,000 hits the first month, just a small indication of the potential audience. "Native American Music has taken a giant step forward with these shows," says Bello. "The time is right for this music and these artists to find their rightful place in the mainstream." By the second NAMA show in November 1999, the award categories had doubled to include the far reaching genres of rap/hip hop, blues/jazz and folk/country.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Tohono O'odham's 'Seeds of Summer'

“Plant native crops in July, wait for the monsoon season and harvest in the fall.” This winning formula involves drought-tolerant seeds – native to the Southwest – planted before the monsoon.

What is a monsoon, you may ask? It is a shift in the prevailing winds coming out of the west or northwest from California to coming out of the south or southeast from the Gulf of Mexico and the Baja that allows moisture to stream northward.

The Weather Almanac, for the region, predicts a late monsoon season this year which normally begins on July 7th, but it states once it does come it may bring more rain than usual which, if true, is great news for Tohono O’odham Reservation lands which are now listed as an abnormally dry area.

I’m no weathercaster but I have lived in the Southwest for more than half a century and have seen the summer rainfall in Tucson, the Copper Basin area of Kearny/Hayden, Phoenix and Yuma. Each summer every area seems to be getting less moisture and Yuma always gets the least amount of rainfall in the state per year. It’s been some ten years, now, since I’ve seen a bona fide monsoon rain, here.

Right now, Yuma is experiencing a pre-monsoon, Tucson summer and I’m enjoying every minute of it – low humidity, day temps in the low 100’s with night temps in the mid 70’s. Can sleep at night with the patio doors open. It’s heaven while it lasts. But, on to the topic at hand.

These monsoon crops are essential to the culture and diet of the Tohono O’odham according to Terrol Dew Johnson, co-director of the Tohono O’odham Community Action in Sells, AZ, some 60 miles west of Tucson.

“You’re not looking at a bean,” Johnson said, “you are looking at a culture where you sing for the rain to come. Sing for planting. Sing for the harvest. We say the Milky Way is made of white tepary beans floating in the sky.“

You won’t find traditional or native crops in the chain grocery store in your neighborhood, The seeds are endangered and are, therefore, in short supply.

Johnson said the TOCA goal is to grow enough traditional foods to supply its community. For now, TOCA obtains its seeds from Native Sees/SEARCH, a non-profit conservation organization in Tucson. Johnson hopes that supplies will grow so that tepary beans one day can occupy bin space at grocery stores next to the pinto beans

Native Seeds/SEARCH works with tribes, such as Tohono O’odham, and farmers to preserve seeds in the Southwest and Northern Mexico. The organization sells seeds to the public in its store, online or through its catalog.

From Seeds To Harvest:

Amaranth – A small grain grown by the Aztecs and Southwest Indians. Use young leaves in salads. Cook seeds in water to make a hot cereal. Use ground or popped amaranth in recipes. Plant ¼ inch deep in basins or rows.

Tohono O’odham 60 Day Corn – Ground and used in cornmeal. Plant 1 inch deep in rows, clumps or basins. Stagger planting time if intercropping with beans. Give corn a head start by planting a few weeks before planning beans.

Black-Eyed Peas – Introduced from Africa. Can be eaten fresh or dry and cook. Plant 1 inch deep and 6 inches apart.

O’odham Ke:li Ba:so Melon – Introduced by the Spanish. Plant 3 to 5 seeds ½ inch deep and 24 inches apart. Allow room for vine growth.

Tepary Beans – Traditional protein in a variety of tastes and colors. Soak dried beans overnight before cooking. Plant ½ inch deep and four inches apart. Not a true pole bean; a short trellis will give beans more room to spread out to produce pods. Over watered plants will not produce beans.

Tohono O’odham Yellow Meated Watermelon – Introduced from Africa by the Spanish has crisp yellow to orange flesh. Plant 3 seeds ½ inch to 1 inch deep, allowing room for vine to grow.

Tohono O’odham Ha:l or Magdelena Big Cheese Squash – Eat when small as summer squash or after November as winter squash. Plant 3 seeds 1 inch deep allowing room for vine growth.
Native Seeds/SEARCH

This story has been edited, in part, from the June 19th issue of The Arizona Republic bylined Sadie Jo Smokey.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

NATIVE VOTE TRAININGS - TAKE ACTION!!!
Submitted by Alyssa Burhans

NCAI and National Voice are partnering together for Voter Trainings to assist tribes in developing their NATIVE VOTE strategies to include training on voter registration, voter education, and getting out the Native vote (GOTNV). The training curriculum has been developed specifically for Native people and our communities.

1st TRAINING: Southwest, July 10-11, Arizona State University Law School, Tempe, AZ
2nd TRAINING: Northwest, July 17-18, Coeur d’Alene Resort and Casino, Worley, ID
3rd TRAINING: Oklahoma, July 24-25, Hardesty Regional Library, Tulsa, OK

Boston-Based 'Peltier Defense Committee' Needs Help!

Submitted by Jean bedell-mashkikinabinais

(NATIVE VOTE TRAINING SCHEDULE - SEE NOTICE AT END OF COLUMN)

Please help the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. These on-line companies such as pay-pal and ebay have refused further services.

info@leonardpeltier.org

On this day (July 4th) of celebration of "freedom" and "democracy," the Boston Area- Leonard Peltier Support Group called for a boycott of PayPal and parent company eBAY.

The modest funds raised through the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) and selected support group Web sites are used for public education programs, political and lobbying actions, and legal strategies undertaken on behalf of Leonard Peltier. We do these things to keep Peltier's hope for freedom alive. While such activities are likely inconvenient for the U.S. government, they are not illegal. On the contrary, these activities represent free exercise of our constitutional rights.

We've come to expect interference with our Web-based services over the years, i.e., interruption of service at critical times, for example. However, last week, both the LPDC and the Boston support group received notification from PayPal (our Web site credit card verification and
payment processing service) that we are in violation of its relatively new Acceptable Use Policy. Designating Leonard Peltier as being "notorious for committing murderous acts," PayPal has now deprived us of our online fundraising capability.

Our accounts have been closed preventing us from receiving donations electronically and we have been told that our funds collected through the online service may be frozen for up to 180 days.

Please note that PayPal doesn't monitor Web sites but depends on "members of the community" to bring alleged violations to its attention. We can only speculate as to who those "members of the community" were
in this case.

We consider this policy and PayPal's actions to be an attack on our political beliefs, interference with our right to participate in the "democratic" political process, and an intentional effort on the part of PayPal and its parent company eBAY to interfere with our (and your)constitutional rights. Such corporate actions --as taken at the behest of the U.S. government, or not -- are an affront to activists everywhere and threaten our basic freedoms.

We will NOT go away! Join the LPDC/BA-LPSG boycott of PayPal and its parent company eBAY. Spread the word to friends, family, colleagues and co-workers.

*Don't use the PayPal service on Web sites you own or manage.
*Don't donate to or purchase from sites that use the PayPal service.
*Don't buy or sell/auction items using eBAY.

Send them the message that we find THEIR policy and actions
"offensive". An online petition also will be available for your signature in a day or two.

THE LPDC IS IN URGENT NEED OF FUNDS. WE THEREFORE URGE YOU TO IMMEDIATELY SEND DONATIONS BY SNAIL MAIL. NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL.

LPDC
PO Box 583
Lawrence, Kansas 66044-0583
USA
Thank you.

Justice. We want it. We want it NOW.!
Boston Area - Leonard Peltier Support Group
Web: http://www.peltiersupport.org
E-mail:
mailto:peltiersupport@riseup.net

NATIVE VOTE TRAININGS - TAKE ACTION!!!
Submitted by Alyssa Burhans

NCAI and National Voice are partnering together for Voter Trainings to assist tribes in developing their NATIVE VOTE strategies to include training on voter registration, voter education, and getting out the Native vote (GOTNV). The training curriculum has been developed specifically for Native people and our communities.

1st TRAINING: Southwest, July 10-11, Arizona State University Law School, Tempe, AZ
2nd TRAINING: Northwest, July 17-18, Coeur d’Alene Resort and Casino, Worley, ID
3rd TRAINING: Oklahoma, July 24-25, Hardesty Regional Library, Tulsa, OK

The trainings are open to all tribally-sponsored individuals and representatives from organizations that focus on Native American voter work.

There is no registration fee to attend these training sessions. We thank the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Chehalis tribe who have donated conference space, lodging, food, and monetary support. If you are interested in contributing in any way to the Native Vote project or specific trainings, please contact NCAI at (202)466-7767.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

Sacheen Littlefeather - Actress and Activist

March 27th, 1973 was a fateful night for Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather as the young woman in beaded doeskin took center stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California to decline Marlon Brando’s Best actor Oscar Award for his role as Don Vito Corleone for “The Godfather.” She introduced herself and said she had a message from Marlon Brando.

“Marlon Brando has asked me to tell you, in a very long speech which I cannot share with you presently – because of time – that he must – very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. The reasons lie in the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie re-runs, and also in the recent events at Wounded Knee. Thank you on behalf of Marlon Brando.” Following the ceremony, Littlefeather shared the full text of Brando’s 15 page statement with the press.

A few people applauded, but many more jeered. Some who saw the broadcast remember Littlefeather was “booed off the stage”. The incident made a distinct impression on the subsequent award presenters for the evening. Clint Eastwood wondered if he should present the award for Best Picture “on behalf of all of cowboys shot in John Ford westerns over the years.” Raquel Welch added before announcing the winner of the Best Actress Award,“I hope the winner doesn’t have a cause.” Co-host Michael Caine criticized Brando for “letting some poor Indian girl take the boos, instead of reading the statement himself.”

This article is being edited from the Internet writings of Chia Evers who is the sole author of “Today in Odd History” and the editor of ”News of the Odd.” Brando stated in his message that “I do not wish to offend or diminish this occasion, but I do not feel that I can, as a citizen of the United States, accept this or any award. You are probably saying, ’what the hell does this have to do with the Academy Awards?’ The answer is that the motion picture community as much as anyone has been responsible for degrading the Indian.”

According to Evers, Hollywood was in shock but immediately went on the offensive. Brando was accused of manipulating the press, by, as John Wayne put it,”taking some little unknown girl and dressing her up in an Indian outfit’. Even years later some misinformed soul on an Interent site called “The Most and Least Annoying of 2001” said “Littlefeather was annoying because she represented herself as a Native American at the Academy Awards even though she is not. She used the Oscars as a platform to make a boring speech about the plight of the Native Americans.”

The press eventually learned Sacheen Littlefeather is an actress, born Maria Cruz in 1947 in California who had appeared in the 1970 film “American Vampire” and, indeed, is of Native American extraction – Yaqui, Apache and Pueblo as well as Caucasian. Her notoriety did result in a few films roles. One, as Patsy Littlejohn in “The Trial of Billy Jack in 1974. She also made an appearance in Playboy magazine. But her career was short-lived which she maintains was bought to end and by the FBI with her mention of “Wounded Knee”

Today, she still professionally uses the name Sacheen Littlefeather in her continuing role as an activist. She has taken on a number of causes: Encouraging Native Americans to work in Hollywood; fighting to combat alcoholism, obesity and diabetes among Native Americans; and caring for Native Americans with AIDS, her brother among them.

She is also the coordinator of the Kateri Circle of the Archdiocese of San Francisco which blends Native American spirit with Catholic Ritual, in honor of Kateri Tekawitha. “The Lily of the Mohawks”, a 17th century Iroquois maiden beautified by Pope John Paul II.

Now, with the recent death of Brando, Sacheen Littlefeather’s name is, again, being featured in the news. Hopefully, reporters will emphasize what she is doing for the present rather than what did in the past.

Evers concluded her article with the statement,”Brando is uncomfortable talking about Sacheen Littlefeather, but she remembers him with some fondness. ‘He helped me to become an infamous person.’, she says. ‘It definitely put me on the map’.”

Ms. Littlefeather, with an attitude like that, I don’t see how you can possibly fail in any endeavor you take on.

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