And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "CATHERINE DAVIDS" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and Ishgooda *********************************** Last night (Thursday, September 2, 1999) a meeting was held at the North American Indian Association (NAIA) building in Detroit. The meeting was held to discuss Governor Engler's recent edict to close the Michigan Commission on Indian Affairs. The "guv" intends to transfer all aspects of the MCIA to other departments within the Department of Civil Rights. About 50 people attended the meeting. Aurora Sauceda and Cheryl Spaniola and I drove down from Flint. We thought it was going to be a rally. Instead it turned out to be a meeting. It was very interesting. The first speaker was a woman elder (one of the founders of the NAIA). She was eloquent with solid questions about the closing and the transfer. She mentioned several questions which needed to be addressed, such as how does the budget for the Civil Rights Department compare to the current budget for the Indian commission? Are federal funds going to be coming down? What current jurisdictional powers will be hampered by the transfer to civil rights as the commission as it has been addresses both reservation and urban Indians in the state and has been a voice for both....How will current agencies and programs under the Indian commission be effected ? Accessibility less for rural locations? The current commission employs a number of Native people, how will these jobs be effected? Will there once again be well meaning non Natives implementing Native agencies and programs? In the past there was a lot of serious illness on the Isabella Reservation near Mt Pleasant..a state investigation revealed almost total neglect by the state then current program structures and was one of the reasons for the creation of the commission under then Gov Romney...we face this same potential for criminal neglect once again? Ultimately her greatest concern is the dismantling of the communication network that the MCIA has created. The next speaker was a male elder and from the information we knew that he has always been an activist for Indian Country. After these two speakers it was kind of quiet with everyone trying to figure if they could add anything to what these two elders had stated and questioned. Rick Schott (President of the NAIA) had quite a time getting everyone else out of their chairs to speak but finally he asked a question and I raised my hand. This was his trick to get someone else to the microphone. So...I got up and stated my opinion about the importance of the MCIA, that the "guv's" closing of the office was an act of war (destroying communication networks), that the "guv" is always angry with us Indians and finding ways to cause us harm, that if the MCIA closes what will he do to us next, etc. I shared information about State Representative Lynn Martinez's office giving support and lobbying on behalf of the MCIA (I forgot to mention that the State's Democratic House of Representatives Caucus is also gathering information for possible support). Then lots of other people got up to speak. One man got up and deflected the purpose of the meeting to the upcoming 2000 Census and the importance of getting counted in order to ensure equitable distribution of federal funds. [Thurmond Bear also pointed out that it takes numbers to create political clout. To be heard we need to show numbers..if you are self identified as Native, mark it. He mentioned a housing program in Washington state that received funding for only 45 homes, not 450 because the census only showed that there were a max of 45 who could be included].... This man is absolutely correct but this discussion distracted from the concerns about the MCIA. This man did say that us Indians should take care of ourselves and not depend upon the MCIA whose closing is a "done deal." He stated that he has known about this for about two months even though the information was just publicly released only within the past two weeks. Then another man got up and stated that us Indians need to put aside our differences, learn to work together, "can't we all just get along," and that the closing of the MCIA is a "done deal and we'd better just get over it, and figure out how to take care of ourselves." A representative from the American Civil Liberties Union was present and said his plan is to file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the MCIA. This is an historic action because the ACLU has traditionally seemed to be uninterested in American Indian issues and concerns. Levi Rickert (North American Indian Center of Grand Rapids) gave good support for the MCIA as did Rick Schott. Paul Vargas (a member of the Brown Beret) came to offer support from his group. He is a knowlegable and mesmerizing speaker. The late middle-aged men in the room sat up and remembered when they were all "on fire" with passionate causes in the 1960s and 1970s. It was easy to see the pride they felt for this young Chicano man. The most interesting thing to me was that the male elders and all of the women were ready to take action while the late middle-aged (between 45-55) men were sort of complacent with a "que sera sera, what will be will be" attitude. It was disturbing. Us three women had quite a discussion on the way home about why this is but we couldn't figure it out. The group determined to have more meetings to discuss this matter but there isn't really time for too many more meetings because this is a "60 day and out" deal for the MCIA [ dated from Aug 20] so it is of immediate concern. While more physical forms of action are being planned (a protest rally in Lansing) the most "impact" form of protest is letter writing. Please write a letter of support and mail copies to the offices listed below. The total cost of mailing 12 letters is $3.96 and per person that is a small price to pay to save the Michigan Commission on Indian Affairs office. Donna Budnick, Executive Director Michigan Commission on Indian Affairs Victor Office Center, Suite 700 201 N. Washington Square Lansing, Michigan 48913 FAX: 1-517-334-8641 Senator John Cherry (D) Democratic House Caucus Leader P. O. Box 30036 Lansing, MI 48909-7536 FAX: 1-517-373-1453 Senator Jackie Vaughn III (D) P. O. Box 30036 Lansing, MI 48909-7536 FAX: 1-517-373-5227 Representative Lynne Martinez (D) P. O. Box 30014 Lansing, MI 48909-7514 FAX: 1-517-373-5698 Representative Vera Rison (D) P. O. Box 30014 Lansing, MI 48909-7514 Representative Belda Garza (D) P. O. Box 30014 Lansing, MI 48909-7514 Representative Valde Garcia (R) P. O. Box 30014 Lansing, MI 48909-7514 FAX: 1-517-373-5780 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Lansing State Journal Letters to the Editor 120 E. Lenawee Street Lansing, MI 48919 Detroit Free Press Letters to the Editor 600 W. Fort Street Detroit, MI 48226 Detroit News Letters to the Editor 615 W. Lafayette Detroit, MI 48226 Saulte Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Newspaper "Letters to the Editor" 523 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Tribal Observer "Letters to the Editor" 7070 E. Broadway Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 "Saginaw Tribal Office"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Traverse Band"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Pokagon Band; Att: Bob Moody"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Saginaw Inter.Council; Att: Victoria MIller"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MICHIGAN MEDIA: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
