And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >From BIGMTLIST ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 23:10:35 -0400 From: Al Swilling <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Newsgroups: alt.native Subject: THE TIME TO UNITE HAS ARRIVED (actually, it's overdue) 13 May 1999 THE TIME TO UNITE HAS ARRIVED To All American Indigenous People: I'm sure that you have all probably heard about the Dine'h people's fight for survival in Arizona and how the government is trying to force them off land that they have lived on for centuries--land that is sacred to both the Dine'h and Hopi people, land that has been willingly shared by the tribes and still would be if the U.S. government and Peabody Western Coal Company had not gotten involved. If you have not heard about the atrocities being committed against the Dine'h people in Arizona's HPL, go to SENAA's web site at: http://members.xoom.com/senaa/index2.html and read the reports. If you are familiar with the situation, visit the site and read the reports again to refresh your memory. For those you know who do not have computers or access to the Internet, please inform them about what is happening to the Dine'h people. Print copies of some of the more informative photos and articles and see that they are distributed among your family, friends, and acquaintances. The significance of this issue goes far beyond the Dine'h people. The outcome of their plight will determine how every American indigenous nation and individual will be treated by the U.S. government in the future. If we do not stand united with the Dine'h against the crimes that are being committed against them, if the U.S. government is allowed to continue to deprive them of their human rights, civil rights, Constitutional rights to free exercise of their religion, and even their right to survive--as it has for years now--it will send a message to the U.S. government and every hate group in the nation that it's okay to treat us this way. By its actions, the U.S. government is already, in effect, putting its seal of approval on the assault, torture, and murder of groups, families, and individuals just because their skin color or religious beliefs are "different." Be warned, my friends: What is happening to the Dine'h people now can happen to you or me next, if this is allowed to continue! We who have computers and those of us who travel the Powwow Circuit are the only ones who have been getting the news about what is happening to the Dine'h people. The national news media are NOT covering this vital issue. National media that should have been covering this drama has been conspicuously absent. Only reporters from publications with relatively low circulation have had the courage and have cared enough to give the Dine'h's plight the attention that it deserves. None of the major media have broadcast anything about this tragedy. Is it because they just don't care, or is it because the U.S. government has ordered them to keep silent about it? I am in the process of discovering the answer to that question. I am notifying ALL the national media and requesting that they immediately conduct investigative reports into the Dine'h people's mistreatment and the injustices being perpetrated and perpetuated against them. However, one small group such as SENAA is seldom listened to if the media decide to be stubborn about it. It will take each and every one of us, united in our efforts, to cause the necessary changes. Remember: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease!" IT IS NOW TIME FOR ALL AMERICAN INDIAN PEOPLE AND OUR SUPPORTERS TO UNITE AS ONE IN OUR EFFORTS TO STOP THE ATROCITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BEING COMMITTED AGAINST THE DINE'H PEOPLE! >From this day forward, our moto must be: "IF YOU HAVE WRONGED ONE AMERICAN INDIAN, YOU HAVE WRONGED US ALL!" As a Native American and founder of SENAA, and on behalf of the Dine'h people, I ask each person who reads this letter to contact the following media: "Nightly News" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "48 Hours" [EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Robert Dorman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, , "MSNBC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "CBS News" <http://www.cbs.com>, "ABC News" <http://www.abcnews.com>, "CNN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. E-mail them, write to them, phone them. Don't just contact them once. Contact them often and continually until they listen and do something about it. The media should hear from each of us at least twice each week--more often if you have the time and can afford it. UNDERSCORING THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE: To underscore the importance of this issue, I have, after much prayer and contemplation, pledged to the Dine'h people, as I now pledge to all of you, the following: If, by 30 May 1999, the national media have not broadcast and/or published at least one balanced, comprehensive article about the Dine'h people's plight with a promise of more in-depth coverage to follow, then on or around the first day of June, 1999, I will call for press conference with local and national media to be held in Cleveland, Tennessee, and a rally of all Native American people and supporters who can attend. At the press conference/rally, I will outline the story of the Dine'h people at Big Mountain, announce my intentions to the press, ask for the support of the Native American people, pray to the Creator for help and strength, and then leave Cleveland, Tennessee, and embark on the more than 1,800 mile walk to Big Mountain on the HPL in Arizona. The purpose of the trek will be to gather support for the Dine'h people and to stress the profound and far-reaching importance of preserving the dignity and restoring to the Dine'h people ALL of their rights and priviledges by repealing Public Laws 93-531, and 104-301, and S1973 "The Navaho Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996." If the walk becomes necessary, I hope each of you will support it and will urge everyone you know to give their support by daily harrassing the press to give this issue the coverage it deserves and by harrassing Washington officials and the President, demanding that they repeal P.L. 93-531, P.L. 104-301, and S1973; immediately cease to persecute the Dine'h people; provide for the replacement of the water used by Peabody Coal Company; order the clean-up of the air, soil and water polluted by the coal company; restore to the Dine'h people all the livestock that was taken, compensation to the Dine'h people for their suffering; and monetary compensation to the families of people who died as the result of the atrocities committed against them by the U.S. government. Providing I don't break a leg, I should be able to travel 25 miles or more per day. If I average 25 miles per day and leave on the first day of June, I should arrive at my Arizona destination on or around 14 August 1999. My wife has agreed to accompany me by driving ahead to each day's destination to provide moral support, food, and fresh water during the journey. Hopefully, the project will gain support along the way as more people learn the story of the Dine'h people and their plight. We only have until January, 2000, rally the American people to persuade Congress and the President to repeal P.L. 93-531, P.L. 104-301, and S1973 and begin restoring the lives of the Dine'h people at Big Mountain. Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. I hope that I can count on your support to raise public awareness and fight this cause. I have a small card in my wallet with a short verse on it. I start each day with the thought that it expresses. I will leave you with those words. I hope you find it as meaningful as I did: This is the beginning of a new day. The Creator has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or grow in its light and be of service to others; But what I do with this day is important, because I have exchanged a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. I hope I will not regret the price I paid for it. Sincerely yours Al Swilling SENAA President/Founder ******************************************** You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe BIGMTLIST" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words "subscribe BIGMTLIST" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 ******************************************** ------------------------------------------ This message was sent to you by Name: BIGMTLIST Email Address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] IP Address: office93.theofficenet.com ------------------------------------------ Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
