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WOTANGING IKCHE- NATIVE AMERICAN NEWS VOLUME 15, ISSUE 004 Distributed by Gary Night Owl EDITORIAL CONTENTS LIST ELDER QUOTE OF THE WEEK

EDITORIAL By: Gary Smith

O'siyo Brothers and Sister! The legacy of racism and racial intolerance is alive and well in border towns throughout Indian Country. Articles in this and recent issues focus on the anti-Indian attitude in towns bordering the Navajo Nation, but I have personally witnessed this vile illness in every border community I have ever lived in or visited. It is just as alive and unwell in Rapid City SD, Minneapolis MN and Buffalo NY as it is in Farmington NM and Flagstaff AZ. It is amazing to observe the same determination exerted in border towns to keep a strip of liquor stores lining the reservations (White Clay, Shiprock...) as it is to continue to dump filth and sludge that leaks into the reservation water supply or to deface or defile a place sacred to area tribes (Snowbowl). Indians were forced onto the most hostile and least desirable (at that time) places when reservations and reserves were formed, but when the almighty dollar raises its ugly head, watch the dominant society try to steal it back (Black Hills, Oklahoma, and more recently Oka and New Caledonia). In some cases the racism is subtle... Souvenirs that depict "Chief Wahoo" like images with "Tonto Talk" phrases on them. In other cases the graphic displays and even more graphic violence are testimony to the truth. Many members of the dominant society regard the first inhabitants of Turtle Island as soulless animals, unworthy of human compassion. This stems directly from the Papal Bulls that the Vatican has yet to rescind. If one of the dominant religions doesn't regard Native Americans as human beings why should little Johnny? All too often crimes against Native Peoples are swept under the rug or downplayed. In some cases the perpetrators of the crimes were the police themselves - does the name Ironchild ring a bell? Many make light of the Indian mascot issue, but it is real. Indian Mascots give one group of human beings permission to treat another group of human beings as as caricatures and to, again, regard them as less than human. Until institutions like the Catholic church and Universities take the initiative to treat all humans with respect and dignity, you can expect others to regard Indians in a lesser light. They have been given tacit permission to do so by their religious and secular teachers. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org

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CONTENTS LIST OF ARTICLES IN VOLUME 15, ISSUE 004 FOR ARTICLES GOT TO WOTANGING IKCHE-Native American News Editorial Section: . Disrespect Is Institutional - University Asked To Return Illiniwek Regalia - University Claims Illiniwek Feathers Returned - Facebook Postings Alarm Ui Officials - Improved Indian Health Care Discussed - Senator Works To Increase Access To Health Clinics - Intelligence Report: Hate Crimes In Border Town - Settlement Offers Remain Viable In Cobell Case - Epa Superfund Cleanup Turns Messy - Tensions Run High At Final Black Mesa Deis Hearing - Mining Decision Angers Tribe - Ice Storm Effects Rural Indian Community - When It's 30 Below, Any Fuel Will Do - Appeals Court Revives Mixed-Blood Ute Lawsuit - Congressman Pushes For Land Transfer For Pechangas - Raising A New Nation - Representative Rehberg Focuses On Indian Issues - Rehberg Will Help Little Shell Gain Recognition - New Akaka Bill Has Different Features - Women Concerned About Fate Of Their Culture - Reviving Language A Full-Time, Paying Job - Potawatomi Tribe Buys Federal Contractor - George Benge: Open Season On Native Students - Opinion: The Power Of Navajo Voters In Jeopardy - Jodi Rave: Think Tank Looks At Us Health Plans - Yellow Bird: Climate Gets Too Hot To Ignore - Jodi Rave: Native Youth Reading For Fun - Giago: How Many Others Will Die Over Iraq? - Jodi Rave: Indian Nations Use Of Scenic Byway Pgm - Me'tis Residential School Missed In Compensation - Ciepac, Jbg Denunciation From Oventic - Whitedog School Closed Until Further Notice - Algonquins Have Started To Block A Forestry Operation - Sask. Me'tis Expecting New Deal On Weapons Range - B.C. Bands Get Down To Business - Home Invasion Leaves Man In Serious Condition - Navajo Man Fights For Discharge From Marines - Cass Lake Pedistrian Killed When Struck By Car - Native Justice -- Unsolved Crimes - Rustywire: Forever - Verse: Hawaiian Book Of Days - Lee Goins Poem: My Passion - Red Crow Westerman Honors The 'Man In Black'

FOR ARTICLES GO TO WOTANGING IKCHE-Native American News

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Along the U.S.-Mexico border, the body count continues to pile up daily. Meanwhile, the Minutemen patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and shameless politicians find it easy to denounce illegal immigration as the cause of all the nation's problems - including linking it with "the war on terror." Amidst all the clatter, the only views not being heard are the ones that matter most. Thus here, we bring you a truly historic column, featuring the views of those that have come before us to these lands: American Indians: "From the point of view of the laws of the indigenous nations of North America, the Europeans are the original illegal immigrants in the area of North America. The United States... has, for more than 200 years, methodically and militarily violated indigenous law, and even solemn treaties, in order to take over and occupy the vast majority of the lands of Indigenous nations and peoples.... it is hypocritical in the extreme for the people of the United States to now pretend that it is paragon of virtue, and a country that has always conducted itself on the basis of the rule of law." -- Indian Law Scholar, Steven Newcomb

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CONTACT: Please send all submissions, subscription requests, questions or comments for this newsletter to Gary Night Owl at gars@nanews.org . Website: Wotanging Ikche-Native American News ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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