On Louis Proyect's long missive in which I and others were quoted and my background described, I would like to make one correction so that there is no misrepresentation--due in no way to Louis. I am a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy whose Blackfoot blood-quantum has been acknowledged but I am not BIA enrolled. Prior to 1962, an Indian was anyone with Indian blood, self-acknowledged to be an Indian and living as one and acknowledged by his/her Tribal affiliation to be an Indian; all of this applies to me. After 1962, the BIA formally defined an "Indian" as someone with 25% or more Indian blood--this was despite the fact that many Nations and Tribes accepted less than 25% because of their histories--rape, abduction, adoption, inter-marriage etc-- and the BIA put this rule in, in violation of National Sovereignty (imagine if the U.S. government tells the Polish Government who and what is a true "Pole" etc) in order to break the ties between Indians and their lands and cultures and to de-allot/privatize for sale to non-Indians, their lands and to define out of existence, Indians and the "Indian problem." Today, formal enrollment means the final say rests with the BIA, a process to which I will never submit for the same reason that no Jew should be asked to sumit to a process involving nazis being the final authority as to what and who is a "true Jew." Although my Blackfoot "blood-quantum" is far more than 25% and has been so established, I will never submit to any enrollment process in which the BIA or DIA has any influence or say whatsoever. As a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, I am fighting for full-national sovereignty and full integration of the "Tribes" of the Blackfoot Nation. I will never carry a DIA or BIA card and I proudly carry--and use at all border crossings-- my ID Card as a recognized member of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Jim Craven 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) "Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor and could not have existed had not labor first existed. Labor is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration." (Abraham Lincoln) *My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
