Response: Ken, you have it exactly right. Further, under exting Federal Law (Titles 9, 18 and 25 USC) Indians are not treated as individuals but as members of Groups--Tribes and Nations--and furthermore, individual Indians are typically treated not as individuals but members of a broader collective by a whole plethora of racist attitudes and practices by segments of the non-Indian World. Indians were summarily declared to be U.S. citizens in 1924--not one Indian was ever asked if he/she wanted to be summarily declared a U.S. Citizen. The whole concept of the BIA is a Federal Agency to deal with "foreign entities and Peoples" within the broader U.S. (Do we have a Bureau of Caucasian Affairs or a Bureau of African-American Affairs? Indinas could not even vote in Arizona until 1958. The official U.S. government position at Geneva would summarily strip Indians of collective identities and any rights exercised through any sovereign powers (collective) in recognized and Treaty-protected Indian lands. The Dawes Act of 1887 which turned collective and communal Tribal lands into individualized "allotments" was in the same veign--designed to privatize, individualize and commodify Tribal communal lands--saleable to non-Indians--so as to summarily break and abrogate communal lands, relations, institutions and even identities--while racist institutions remained to treat individual Indians as part of broader groups stereotyped, slandered and discriminated against as whole groups with each individual member suffering as a member of the targeted whole group. There is also the matter of the UN Convention on Genocide. Denying Treaty-protected "Indian Nation Status and Collective Rights" not only violates the Vienna Convention on Treaties, it would forcibly "transfer" Indian children as members of currently-Federal Government-recognized groups with group rights to another group in which they supposedly have only rights as isolated individuals (violation of Article II) The shere arrogance is unbelievable. Just like the U.S. Government summarily declaring that 25% blood-quantum is required to be recognized as a US Government approved Indian regardless of one's recognized status within a given Tribe or Nation--this was done to more easily facilitate aquisitions of allotted lands that could not be passed on to non-Status Indians. If this goes through, there will be ample grounds to impeach Clinton far more serious than blow-jobs in the Oral Office. Jim Craven On 7 Dec 98 at 12:54, Ken Hanly wrote: > James Michael Craven wrote: > Surely the position of the US reps. involves a logical contradiction. > I assume treaties were signed with tribes not individual natives. These > treaties give certain rights to GROUPS of individuals. Because of these > group rights INDIVIDUALS within tribes who have signed treaties with the > US government will have certain individual rights that other US citizens > will not have. Therefore, it is simply not the case that aboriginals who > have signed treaties with the US govt. have the same individual rights as > every other US citizen, and the US reps' claim is contradictory. > How on earth can the US reps' position be defended-- or even make > sense given that treaties surely exist? > Cheers, Ken Hanly > > > > ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- > > From: "James Michael Craven" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Organization: Clark College, Vancouver WA, USA > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 10:04:36 PST8PDT > > Subject: Sovereign Nations Within a Nation > > Priority: normal > > > > Dear Mr. President: > > > > I am writing to you as a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy to > > protest and register very strong indignation at the official > > positions being taken by your State Department at the UN Conference > > on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva Switzerland. Your > > Administration has taken the position that American Indians have only > > individual rights--those of any other American Citizen--and not > > collective or Tribal/National Rights of Self-determination. > > > > The official position of your Administration: a) Would summarily deny > > or abrogate existing Treaties with Indian Nations (Nations do not > > make Treaties with their own individual citizens only with other > > Sovereign Nations); b) Would summarily violate and deny the core > > principles of the Vienna Convention the definitive, International Law > > of Treaties; c) Would summarily do what hundreds of years of infected > > blankets, alcohol and drugs, stolen lands, the BIA and other forms > > and instruments of Genocide have been unable to completely > > finish--the total extermination and extinction of Indian Nations as > > Nations; d) would violate several Articles of the UN Convention on > > Genocide (that it took the U.S. over 40 years to sign and still the > > U.S. remains arrogantly outside of with the Lugar-Helms-Hatch > > "Sovereignty Amendment of 1988)--specifically, Article II (b) > > "Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group", (c) > > "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to > > bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part", and (e) > > "Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group"; and in > > addition, all of the sub-sections of Article III. > > > > This may seem to you to be hyperbole, but the fact is that it is > > integration with non-Indian American society that has accelerated > > rather than ameliorated the conditions leading to the > > destruction/extinction of Indian Nations, Cultures and even individual > > Indians. What is left of Indian Cultures and Peoples remains only as > > a result of refusal to integrate or assimilate and collective > > protection/enforcement of Treaties and collective Rights, and the position of > > your Administration would arrogantly and summarily define away > > Sovereign Rights embodied in legitimate Treaties--already broken and > > betrayed on so many occasions and for narrow interests. > > > > We do not beg you to "give" us Collective Rights of > > Self-Determination and National Sovereignty, we > > demand and assert them as a matter of the same principles and concepts > > of International Law and Covenants to which the U.S. Government regularly > > holds other Nations --and to which we have been held--enforced > > through bloody projections of U.S. military power. > > > > No Nation can remain a Great Nation and engage in arrogance, bullying > > and summary abrogations of principles of International Law that it > > demands to be held for itself only. Please reverse this official > > position immediately and: a) Recognize officially the Right of > > Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. to the Status and Recognition of all > > Indigenous Peoples throughout the World; b) Support the International > > Right of Self-Determination for All Indigenous Peoples; c) Support > > the Draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as > > currently written; d) Acknowledge that International Human Rights > > must embrace both Individual and Collective (National > > Sovereignty/Survival) Rights; e) Acknowledge and affirm that all > > Treaties between the U.S. and Indigenous Peoples are binding > > International Documents subject to interpretation and enforcement by > > impartial international Tribunals and International Law; > > > > Pay the US dues owed to the UN as other Nations have and must pay, and stop the > > hypocrisy, superpower/imperial arrogance and selective interpretation/enforcement >of > > International Law. Differnetial treatment under the law and > > differential enforcement of Law--Domestic or International--only > > facilitates anarchy and Social Darwinism that ultimately destroys > > even its beneficiaries. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > James M. Craven > > Member, Blackfoot Confederacy > > Professor, Economics > > Biographical Subject in Marquis "Who's Who in: > > The World, America, The West, Science and Engineering, Finance and Industry > > > > James Craven > > Dept. of Economics,Clark College > > 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863 > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and > > property shall never be taken from them without their consent." > > (Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789) > > > > "To speak of atrocious crimes in mild language is treason to virtue." (Edmund >Burke) > > > > "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not >cause for > > severity? I will be as harsh as truth,and as uncompromising as justice. On this >subject, > > I do not wish to think,or speak,or write with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose >house > > is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from >the hands > > of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire >into which > > it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I >am in ernest-- > > I will not equivocate--I will not excuse. I will not retreat a single inch--and I >will be heard. > > (William Lloyd Garrison, 1831, Abolitionist Leader) > > > > *My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion* > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > James Craven > > Dept. of Economics,Clark College > > 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863 > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and > > property shall never be taken from them without their consent." > > (Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789) > > > > "To speak of atrocious crimes in mild language is treason to virtue." (Edmund >Burke) > > > > "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not >cause for > > severity? I will be as harsh as truth,and as uncompromising as justice. On this >subject, > > I do not wish to think,or speak,or write with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose >house > > is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from >the hands > > of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire >into which > > it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I >am in ernest-- > > I will not equivocate--I will not excuse. I will not retreat a single inch--and I >will be heard. > > (William Lloyd Garrison, 1831, Abolitionist Leader) > > > > *My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion* > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > James Craven Dept. of Economics,Clark College 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663 [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and property shall never be taken from them without their consent." (Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789) "To speak of atrocious crimes in mild language is treason to virtue." (Edmund Burke) "I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth,and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think,or speak,or write with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in ernest-- I will not equivocate--I will not excuse. I will not retreat a single inch--and I will be heard. (William Lloyd Garrison, 1831, Abolitionist Leader) *My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
