Nov 25, 2006

Nov. Regular Meeting held at the St. Francis Community Hall, St. Francis, SD

Meeting Notes

Opening Prayer: Elder Alice Four Horns

Opening Remarks: Charmaine explained that the meeting was decided last summer to take place in St. Francis for a Wopila for the International Work and to have an honoring ceremony.

Handouts: The Legacy of Fifteenth Century Vatican Papal Bulls and Indigenous Nations and Peoples; Historic talks on native rights to be held in Hobbema; Contribution Needs; Aboriginal Great Sioux Nation Territory Map, 1911; A Summary of the 1851 and 1868 Treaty Issue in South Dakota; Native North America, The Political Economy of Radioactive Colonialism; Indigenous Peoples Still Lack Human Rights; Uranium Summit Black Hills flyer. (Please call, write, or email the office for any copies.)

 

Introductions

Honoring Ceremony: Young Nation Drum sang the honor songs to recognize the work of Alice Four Horns and Clifford White Eyes, Sr. The Eyapaha was Ted Ten Fingers. Gifts were given to the elders present at the meeting in honor of Alice and Clifford. It was a wonderful ceremony. Thanks also to the cooks and servers: Janice, Ike, Robin, Violet, and Monica.

Minutes & Treasurer‘s Report: Charmaine: The Oct. Meeting Notes were not available. The Oct. meeting was also the Wopila for the Black Hills, and for the special ceremony that was held last year. The Treasurer was unable to attend. Resist Foundation gave $1,000 for general operations; Indigenous Environmental Network has given $4,000 for two Uranium Summits: one on Dec. 20, and the other in Feb. 2007; funds were raised in NY to fund the representatives to the UN Treaty Summit in Edmonton, Canada; the Raffle tickets are still being sold; we will be having a table at LNI when the raffle winners will be drawn on Dec. 16. The raffle sales and private donations enable the meetings to be held on the reservations.

    * 1. Tabling at Lakota Nation Invitational Basketball Tournament: We need volunteers to help at the Defenders’ table.
    * 2. International Indigenous Nations Treaty Summit, Nov. 12-13, 2006 and United Nations Expert Treaty Seminar, Hobbema, Alberta, Canada - Nov. 14-27, 2006.

Report by Clifford White Eyes about the history of the treaties and that “Treaties are sacred and forever.” He also talked about the necessity of learning about this work because we will disappear if we don’t continue to teach and fight for the treaties.

Garvard Good Plumes reported that the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was created at Pine Ridge and Standing Rock, and about the changes that are trying to be made. He told about the new language of constructive agreements and modern treaties that can undermine our current treaties. He talked about the history of the UN and Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council’s work. In Dec., 2004, the Chairman of the debates was not going to send in the original text on the Declaration but was going to send his own. The prayer fast/hunger strike stopped it. There is a difference in western thinking and our thinking. He mentioned one of the handouts about the history of the TSNTC and the UN and that we follow lineal decendancy because of problems with the way blood quantum is determined. He also mentioned the Papal Bulls need to be abolished as are still causing problems for us. (Another handout) Also we need to teach our children and grandchildren about who we really are. “They’re really trying to make us into brown Americans.”

Janice Badhorse Larson told about the purpose of the Albert meeting was to gather information from experts on the treaties: what is currently happening. She also learned that the Canadian treaties between Native people and Canada were altogether different than our treaties.

Charmaine gave a report on the political side of the meeting. Some Indigenous representatives wanted to push a support statement for the UN Declaration that was passed last June 29, 2006. However, that is a very bad Declaration and the TSNTC delegates would not agree to such a statement. Consequently we were able to stop any statement of that kind. She said we were able to hold the line and also informed other Native people from Canada about the ‘bad‘ Declaration, information which they did not have, and made friends and allies.

[Note: On Nov. 28th, the African governments were able to get a ‘no vote’ passed on the ‘bad’ Declaration in the United Nations General Assembly. This stopped the ’bad’ Declaration. We continue to ask for the passage of the original, Subcommission on Human Rights Declaration that was passed in 1994. Please call, write, or email to request copies of the Declaration and an Analysis by the TSNTC.]

Discussion continued on many topics including:

    * -the misuse of the pipe and ceremonies is causing a lot of problems;

    * -Indian Land Consolidation Act and the purchasing of fractionated land;

    * -in the Pentagon is a map ‘military reserves’ and our territory is in there [need a copy of this];

    * -recommendation to have a Treaty Summit in Rosebud;

    * - about the Treaty of Gant in 1823 between UK and the USA [need a copy];

    * -about USA refuses to use the word ‘nation’ when referring to Indigenous nations;

    * -in IRA constitutions refers to the National Sioux Council;

    * -suggestion that treaty councils join with tribal councils;

    * -need an access to lawyers to ask questions as individuals I.e. medical.

The group wants to meet again to continue the discussions and come up with some solutions. The January Regular Meeting will be held again in Rosebud, hopefully at the St. Francis Community Hall.

Uranium Summit Black Hills - Dec. 20, Mueller Civic Center, 801 S. 6th St., Hot Springs, SD.

[NOTE: A Uranium Mining Fact Sheet is available upon request]

Closing Prayer: Archie Little

Submitted by: Charmaine White Face