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- There are 13 posts — by 6 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Zita Knop at Jun 29 18:59 UTC
This is a rather long post that was forwarded to the forum through a moderated
member.
When the steering committee is established and a formal charter is put in place
to better define the scope of what topics are applicable to the forum. And
certainly local issues, local people are impacted by national issues. Perhaps
just the link to an article like this could be included with comments by the
forum member about why he/she thinks it is pertinent to us all.
In the meantime as we're waiting for the official launch here's what was
submitted to post to keep the gears turning.
Daniel
Subject: An Alaskan Native speaks out on Palin, Oil and Alaska
September 11, 2008 at 01:34:57
An Alaska Native speaks out on Palin, Oil, and Alaska
By Evon Peter
My name is Evon Peter; I am a former Chief of the Neetsaii
Gwichin tribe from Arctic Village , Alaska and the current Executive Director
of Native Movement. My organization provides culturally based leadership
development through offices in Alaska and Arizona . My wife, who is Navajo, and
I have been based out of Flagstaff, Arizona for the past few years, although I
travel home to Alaska in support of our initiatives there as well. It is
interesting to me that my wife and I find ourselves as Indigenous people from
the two states where McCain and Palin originate in their leadership.
I am writing this letter to raise awareness about the ongoing
colonization and violation of human rights being carried out against Alaska
Native peoples in the name of unsustainable progress, with a particular emphas
is on the role of Sarah Palin and the Republican leadership. My hope is that it
helps to elevate truth about the nature of Alaskan politics in relation to
Alaska Native peoples and that it lays a framework for our path to justice.
Ever since the Russian claim to Alaska and the subsequent sale to
the United States through the Treaty of Cession in 1867, the attitude and
treatment towards Alaska Native peoples has been fairly consistent. We were
initially referred to as less than human uncivilized tribes, so we were
excluded from any dialogues and decisions regarding our lands, lives, and
status. The dominating attitude within the Unites States at the time was called
Manifest Destiny; that God had given Americans this great land to take from the
Indians because they were non-Christian and incapable of self-government. Over
the years since that time, this framework for relating to Alaska Native peoples
has become entrenched in the United States legislative and legal systems in an
on going direct violation of our human rights.
What does this mean? Allow me to share an analogy. If a group of
people were to arrive in your city and tell you their people had made laws,
among which were:
What were once your home and land now belong to them (although
you could live in the garage or backyard)
Forced you to send your children to boarding schools to learn
their language and be acculturated into their ways with leaders who touted Kill
the American, save the man (based on the original statement made by US Captain
Richard H. Pratt in regards to Native American education Kill the Indian, save
the man.)
Supported missionaries and government agents to forcefully (for
example, with poisons placed on the tongues of your children and withheld
vaccines) convince you that your Jesus, Buddha, Torah, or Mohammed was actually
an agent of evil and that salvation in the afterlife could only be found
through believing otherwise
Made it illegal for you to co ntinue to do your job to support
your family, except under strict oversight and through extensive regulation
Made it illegal for you to own any land or run a business as an
individual and did not allow you to participate in any form of their
government, which controlled your life (voting or otherwise)
How would this make you feel? What if you also knew that if you
were to retaliate, that you would be swiftly killed or incarcerated? How long
do you think it would take for you to forget or would you be sure to share this
history with your children with the hope that justice could one day prevail for
your descendents? And most importantly to our conversation, how American does
this sound to you?
To put this into perspective, my grandfather who helped to raise
me in Arctic Village was born in 1904, just thirty-seven years after the United
States laid claim to Alaska . If my grandfather had unjustly stolen your
grandfathers home and I was still living in the house and watching you live
outdoors, would you feel a change was in order? Congress unilaterally passed
most of the major US legislation that affect our people in my grandfathers
lifetime. There has never been a Treaty between Alaska Native Peoples and the
United States over these injustices. Each time that Alaska Native people stand
up for our rights, the US responds with token shifts in its laws and policies
to appease the building discontent, yet avoiding the underlying injustice that
I believe can be resolved if leadership in the United States would be willing
to acknowledge the underlying injustice of its control over Alaska Native
peoples, our lands, and our ways of life.
United States legal history in relation to Alaska Natives has
been based on one major platform - minimize the potential for Alaska Native
people to regain control of their lives, lands, and resources and maximize
benefit to the Unites States government and its corporations. While the rest of
the wor ld, fo llowing World War II, was seeking to return African and European
Nations to their rightful owners, the United States pushed in the opposite
direction by pulling the then Territory of Alaska out of the United Nations
dialogues and pushing for Statehood into the Union. Why is it that Alaska
Native Nations are still perceived as being incapable of governing our own
lands, lives, and resources differently than African, Asian, and European
nations?
Let me get specific about what is at stake and how this relates
to Palin and the Republican leadership in Alaska and across this country. To
this day, Alaska Native peoples are among the only Indigenous peoples in all of
North America whose Indigenous Hunting and Fishing Rights have been
extinguished by federal legislation and yet we are the most dependent people on
this way of life. Most of our villages have no roads that connect them to
cities; many live with poverty level incomes, and all rely to varying degrees
on traditional hunti ng, fishing, and harvesting for survival. This has become
known as the debate on Alaska Native Subsistence.
As Alaska Governor, Palin has continued the path of her
predecessor Frank Murkowski in challenging attempts by Alaska Native people to
regain their human right to their traditional way of life through subsistence.
The same piece of unilateral federal legislation, known as the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, that extinguished our
hunting and fishing rights, also extinguished all federal Alaska Native land
claims and my Tribes reservation status. In the continental United States ,
this sort of legislation is referred to as termination legislation because it
takes the rights of self-government away from Tribes. It is based in the same
age-old idea that we are not capable of governing our people, lands, and
resources. To justify these terminations, ANCSA also created Alaska Native led
for-profit corporations (which were provided the rema ining lands not taken by
the government and a one time payment the equivalent of about 1/20th of the
annual profits made by corporations in Alaska each year) with a mission of
exploiting the land in partnership with the US government and outside
corporations. It was a brilliant piece of legislation for the legal termina
tion and cultural assimilation of Alaska Natives under the guise of progress.
Since the passage of ANCSA, political leaders in Alaska , with a
few exceptions, have maintained that, as stated by indicted Senator Ted
Stevens, Tribes have never existed in Alaska . They maintain this position out
of fear that the real injustice being carried out upon Alaska Natives may break
into mainstream awareness and lead to a re-opening of due treaty dialogues
between Alaska Native leaders and the federal government. At the same time the
federal government chose to list Alaska Native tribes in the list of federally
recognized tribes in 1993. Governor Palin maintains that trib es wer e
federally recognized but that they do not have the same rights as the tribes in
the continental United States to sovereignty and self-governance, even to the
extent of legally challenging our Tribes rights pursuant to the Indian Child
Welfare Act. What good are governments that cant make decisions concerning
their own land and people?
The colonial mentality in and towards Alaska is to exploit the
land and resources for profits and power, at the expense of Alaska Native
people. Governor Palin reflects this attitude and perspective in her words and
leadership. She comes from an area within Alaska that was settled by relocated
agricultural families from the continental United States in the second half of
the last century. It is striking that a leader from that particular area feels
she has a right, considering all of the injustices to Alaska Native people, to
offer Alaskan oil and resources in an attempt to solve the national energy
crisis at the Republican Convention. Palin also chose not to mention the
connection between oil development and global warming, which is wreaking havoc
on Alaska Native villages, forcing some to begin the process of relocation at a
cost sure to reach into the hundreds of millions.
Our tribes depend on healthy and abundant land and animals for
our survival. For example, my people depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd,
which migrates into the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
each spring to birth their young. Any disruption and contamination will
directly impact the health and capacity for my people to continue to live in a
homeland we have been blessed to live in for over 10,000 years. This is the
sacrifice Palin offered to the nation. The worst part of it is that there are
viable alternatives to addressing the energy crisis in the United States , yet
Palin chooses options that very well may result in the extinguishment of some
of the last remaining intact ecosystems and original cultures in al l of N orth
America . Palin is also promoting off shore oil drilling and increased mining
in sensitive areas of Alaska , all of which would have a lifespan of far fewer
years than my grandfather walked on this earth and which would not even make a
smidgen of an impact on national consumption rates or longer term
sustainability. McCain was once a champion of protecting the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge and it is sad to see, that with Palin on board, he is no longer
vocal and perhaps even giving up on what he believes in to satisfy Palins
position.
While I have much more to say, this is my current offering to
elevate the conversation about what is at stake in Alaska and for Alaska Native
peoples. Please share this offering with others and help us to make this an
election that brings out honest dialogue. We have an opportunity to bring
lasting change, but only if we can be open to hearing the truth about our
situations and facing the challenges that arise.
Many thanks to all t hose who are taking stands for a just and
sustainable future for all of our future generations.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/An-Alaska-Native-speaks-ou-by-Evon-Peter-080910-216.html<http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/An-Alaska-Native-speaks-ou-by-Evon-Peter-080910-216.html>
Hello and happy holidays! We are having an open house from noon till around
eight p.m. on christmas eve and you are all invited to come by and visit. It is
not about food or presents, mainly visiting at this time of the year. Stop by
anytime during the day or evening whatever works for you and if you know of
anyone else that you want to invite bring them also. The idea started when we
heard about a single mom and her young son who would be alone as she will be on
call over the holidays and will not be able to be with her family and we said
come to our house as she works for the tribe . It will be nice to see friends
and meet new people too and if you know of anyone that will be alone and would
rather hang out with us send them over or call us and we can try to arrange
transportation.218-335-0158, Porcupine RD. S.E. in the mission and we are the
third house on the left.And to all a goodnight!
Wishing all of us the love of learning and learning to love, Mike and Patty and
Little Tiny
A family found a puppy that was getting bullied by a pack of dogs and we said
we would keep it in our fenced in yard until the tribal dog catcher can come on
Tuesday. We are trying to find a home for her before then. She seems to be
about three months old and seems to be a saint bernard with a pink collar with
red hearts and no tags. She is pretty skinny and we are feeding her and she is
playful and nice and calm and fun and wants to come in the house but has done
fine outside in this colkd weather lately. We have a female family dog and do
not want two as we have our chickens. If you want information or to see her let
us know. Thank you.
Wishing all of us the love of learning and learning to love, Mike and Patty and
Little Tiny
I am wondering why there is no discussion about the 1855 treaty rights and fish
off on Friday on this forum.
Wishing all of us the love of learning and learning to love, Mike and Patty and
Little Tiny
Aaniin everyone I am forwarding this for more info on the Treaty rights in Minnesota under the 1855 Ojibwe treaty Bruce White was an expert witness for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in 1994 in their treaty case involving the Treaty of 1837. Gigawabamin miinawaa Becky May 13th, 2010<-- by Bruce White --> http://minnesotahistory.net/?p=2481
I don't believe some of the key organizers are on this list serve perhaps
you can put up what is out there in the papers now which is great
information.
Non Violence Training 1pm at Dream catchers Park today may be moved to the
casino....
Audrey Thayer
I have been asked to post this message... The non violent training for the
fishing protesters at 1 p.m. at Dream Catcher park has been moved to the
facility building at 1 p.m. due to the rain.
Wishing all of us the love of learning and learning to love, Mike and Patty and
Little Tiny
From Audrey Thayer:
Hello,
If you are interested in being an observer for the events being held in
Bemidji "The Fish Off or Tribal 1855 Education Event" tomorrow from 11am
until 5pm please contact our office.
To be an observer all you do is watch. You will be welcome in taking
pictures, video recording - watching that people are peaceful and be allowed
to exercise their 1st Amendment.
Please call our office by 4pm today and give us your name and telephone
number.
Thank you.
Greater MN Racial Justice Project (ACLU-MN)
PO Box 133
Bemidji, MN 56619
218-444-2285
On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 11:39 AM, MICHAEL SMITH Patty Smith <
Good morning. Our family is looking for a home for a cat and a dog.The cat is
two years old and female and fixed and all up to date on shots etc. . She is
called Minjikaawanug, Ojibwe for mittens, as she has white paws.She is a large
breed mix so not too big and yet a little bigger than most. We need a home for
her in the next few days please. The dog is a female and fixed and black lab
mix. She is one and a half years old and great with kids and past the chewing
things up stage. She barks whenever anyone walks by , a good watch dog. We do
not need a watch dog. These animals will be put to sleep if homes cannot be
found and so if you cannot help us please send to others.Thank you.
Wishing all of us the love of learning and learning to love, Mike and Patty and
Little Tiny
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