Puvungna Neglected
REAL INDIAN HUMOR
The longest war in
history
By Joel A. Montes
August 30, 2005
By Brother Joshua Seidl, SSP
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Please afford me a little bit of your
time. I want to bring awareness to
you of some recent developments at
Puvungna in CSULB.
A brief overview:
The longest war known to mankind began
exactly 513 years ago this very month
when three Spanish ships, manned mainly
with dangerous criminals, landed on an
island nation they had not known about
before. Their admiral, looking to annex and
colonize an Indian port, mistook this island
to be India. More ships came from Spain,
and then from England, Italy, France and
Portugal. They found out that there were
two continents and thousands of islands
filling up an area of the earth the European,
Asians and Africans never knew about.
My name is Joel A. Montes. I am a
veteran of the US Marines. I am not
an American Indian. I am a mestizo,
of Nicaraguan parents. My motherʼs
father is of the family “Araus”. We
are descendants of the Nicaraus, the
country Nicaragua is named. I only
share this with you because I may not
be considered the person designated
to speak on behalf of local CA tribal
affairs and issues. I recognize this.
Thatʼs why I am appealing to those
who may.
Shes seen one get her own children
hooked on the drug, which among
its side effects suppresses the appetite. “We used to joke that she
kept her whole family high so she
wouldnʼt have to feed them.”
By Michael Riley, The Denver Post,
November 08, 2005
WIND RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION-Natasha Washakie has lived in the
depths of addiction to methamphetamine and come up.
Continued on Page 7
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Riverside, CA.
Permit No. 131
Continued on Page 6
Exploiting Indian Addiction
Two villages were attacked by the Mexican
Government on Christmas Day morning
in the late 1990ʼs. Almost every man,
woman and child was murdered. Brazilian
ranchers have convinced their government
time and again to raid the lands of the
indigenous people, until they finally
murdered a Catholic Nun in 2005. Now
that government has all but toppled. The
salvation of Brazil lays in the hands of the
indigenous people today.
Continued on Page 3
Native American Student Programs 114
University of California at Riverside
224 Costo Hall
900 University Avenue
Riverside, California 92521
The most appalling thing I witnessed
was when I layed against a stump
reading my Bible at the center of the
site. A car drove up and parked near
the entrance where the path begins
toward Puvungna. A couple came out
of the car with a dog and began walking down the path. When they saw me
sit up against the stump, they headed
away from the site near the fence line.
I believe these people had brought
their dog to defecate in and around the
Puvungna area. As they walked towards their car, the young woman kept
looking back towards me, giving me
dirty looks. When they left, I began
surveying the ground. To my horror, I
noticed people where coming by with
their dogs and using Puvungna as a
“crap” hole.
Teresa Choyguha and Charlie Hill laughing it up at UCR.
Teresa Choyguha, Tohono Oʼdham and Charlie Hill, Onieda, two incredible and famous American Indian Comedians came together at UCRʼs
Entertainment Night on May 7, 2005. The show also included Michael
Jacobs of the Cherokee Nation singing some of his famous songs. The
Wagon Burners performed with a variety of songs including rock songs.
The Crisco, A Tohono Oʼdham band, played Chicken Scratch for everyone
to dance to.
The NASP and NASA joined programs to inform the UCR community
about the American Indian. In addition, The Entertainment Night was designed to inform the public that the Indians are not always in feathers
and beads. Moreover, accurate information is desimmenated through these
type of programs. It educates the public about the American Indian culture,
tradition, music, dance, history, and current issues in a more modern form.
More photographs on Page 4 and 5.
www.nasp.ucr.edu
To cut through the chase: I finished
an appointment at the VA Hospital in
Long Beach (early Aug 2005) and my
custom is to stop by Puvungna before
heading home. I noticed the place was
full of trash, beer cans, and left over
drug paraphernalia. I picked up all
the trash and put it in the trashcan. I
noticed both the University and the
people responsible for keeping it were
neglecting Puvungna.
The first Spanish admiral, who was a
mercenary of Italian nationality, enslaved
the indigenous people who first found
him wandering about lost on their island
shore. Those that escaped slavery were
re-captured and had their hands severed
for refusing to mine gold for the Spanish
Crown. The admiral, a member of the
Third Order Secular of St. Francis of
Assisi, is known historically as Christopher
Columbus. The war he began has not yet
ended. The remnants sovereign land still
held autonomously by the First Nations1 of
what is now called the Americas are still
sought after by the predominantly EuroAmerican governments established since
1492.
University of California
American Indian Counselors/Recruiters Association
From the desk of the Director
Greetings,
Welcome to the 2005-2006 school
year. I am glad to say that NASA
has formed this year with Jesus
Rodriguez, Chair, Chelsea Tortes,
Vice-Chair, Cinthya Gonzales,
Treasurer, and Tori Gipson, Secretary. They are already planning
and organizing for the 25th Annual
Medicine Ways Conference and
Pow Wow. The NASP staff will be
working on outreach programs this
year and will be visiting schools,
pow wows, and other activities for
possible applicants. We are also
working on the 2nd Annual Summer Residential Program: Gathering of the Tribes with a tentative
date of July 22-29, 2006. We only
have a limited number of students
that we will accept; therefore
contact us early in order to be
considered. Last years summer
program was very successful and
the students asked for a two-week
program, but unfortunately we
must do one week again.
For more information call us at
(951) 827-4143 or look us up on
the web at www.nasp.ucr.edu.
Sincerely,
Earl Dean Sisto
Director of NASP
Berkeley
Elizabeth Ruiz, Student Assistant
is the receptionist for NASP. She
is a senior majoring in Sociology.
Bridget Wilson
Native American Community
Relations Office of the Undergraduate
Admission
110 Sproul Hall, #5800
Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone: (510) 643-7902
Fax: (510) 642-7333
[email protected]
Ruth Hopper
Undergraduate Advisor
Native American Studies
506 Barrows Hall, #2570
Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone: (510) 642-6613
Fax: (510) 642-6456
[email protected]
Davis
Jesus Rodriguez, Yaqui Indian, worked
for the Native American Student Programs during July and August 2005 to
help with the planning and organizing
of the Summer Residential Program.
Recently, he has decided to become the
Chair of NASA, the Native American
Student Association on campus. He is
majoring in Biological Sciences and
Applied Mathematics.
NASPʼs Program
Assistant
Joshua
Gonzales and his
beautiful
bride
Cinthya Gonzales
smile at their traditional
Xikano
wedding ceremony.
Josh is working
hard with Earl on
making NASP grow
and flourish. At the
same time, Cinthya
has been a great
help to the staff and
is an active member
of NASA. Cinthya
is currently attending UCR majoring
in sociology. Joshua graduated from
UCR in the Spring
Quarter of 2004.
The wedding took
place in San Clamente, CA a beautiful oceanside city.
Page 2
Campus Representatives
Ruth Hopper
Undergraduate Advisor
Native American Studies
506 Barrows Hall, #2570
Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone: (510) 642-6613
Fax: (510) 642-6456
[email protected]
Irvine
Los Angeles
VACANT
Dwight Youpee, SAO
American Indian Studies Center,
UCLA
3220 Campbell Hall, Box 951548
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1548
Phone: (310) 206-7511
Fax: (310) 206-7060
[email protected]
Merced
Riverside
VACANT
Earl Dean Sisto, Director
Native American Student Programs,
UCR
224 Costo Hall
Riverside, CA 92521
Phone: (951) 827-4143
Fax: (951) 827-4342
[email protected]
San Diego
Geneva Lofton Fitzximmons
American Indian Coordinator
Fall Quarter 2005
Student Center Complex B
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0305
Phone: (858) 775-7072
Fax: (858) 534-8996
gfi[email protected]
San Francisco
Kalai Diamond
Graduate Outreach Program
Coordinator
University of California, San
Francisco
1308 Third Avenue, Suite 101
Box 0523
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 514-0840
Fax: (415) 514-0844
[email protected]
Santa Barbara
VACANT
Santa Cruz
Dennis Tibbetts, Director
Native American Resource Center
Office of Admissions
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Phone: (831) 688-2624
Fax: (831) 534-2469
[email protected]
Los Almos National Laboratory
Barbara Grimes
American Indian Education &
Employment Outreach Specialist
P.O. Box 1663
Mail Stop A117
Los Alamos, NM 87545
Office Phone: (505) 665-5121
Alternate Phone: (505) 699-0653
Toll Free Phone:(888) 841-8256
Fax: (505) 665-4411
[email protected]
UC Office of the President
Ramona Wilson, Director
MESA Success Through Collaboration
300 Lakeside Drive 7th Floor
Oakland,CA 94612-3550
Phone: (510) 987-0221
Fax: (510) 763-4704
[email protected]
WEBSITE: www. ucaicra.org
Volume 15
Continued from Front Page
Longest War
Former USA President Carter called on the
National Guard to forcibly remove several
hundred Dine families from their homes.
This was the result of a highly controversial
struggle between Hopi and Dine (Navaho)
over reservation land rights as a result of
forced relocations by the United States of
these two nations a little over a hundred
years ago.
The Government of Puerto Rico claims
ownership of some Taino family cemeteries
as part of the Puerto Rican park system
controlled by the ministry of Culture. Taino
Elders blocked the illegal and immoral
efforts of the Puerto Rican government to
desecrate portions of this cemetery this past
summer. The government officials refused
to speak with or negotiate with the Taino
People – the First Nation of Puerto Rico.
Original orders for local police to remove
the Elders from the cemetery were refused.
The government then sent in Federal Police
troops to arrest the Taino leaders.
Efforts to retain and respect family
cemeteries of Native Americans all over
the United States, its territories and
commonwealth holdings is being denied by
the Churches and Governments of the USA.
Church, state and non-Native business
interests continue to make war on Native
People, though in seemingly smaller scale
than at the end of the 19th century and early
20th. As long as these colonizing powers
desire to take or otherwise control land and
resources of Native Peoples, those powers
are in virtual war against Native People.
Thus the longest war in history continues.
Specific disputes in the USA
Ignorance and a need for tolerance
It is easy for non-Native Americans to point
to other countries and identify the inequities
of those governments regarding minorities.
Yet, it is very difficult for Non-Natives in
the USA to recognize the ingrained and
cultural acceptance of racism in practice
today within our country.
The State of New York belligerently
failed to uphold the long standing treaty
with the Iroquois National Confederacy2
(Mohawk and Seneca to name but two
of those nations) throughout the 1990ʼs.
The average non-indigenous New Yorker
actually felt that there was no treaty, or if
there was that they had no obligation to
live up to their word. The Governor of New
York repeatedly threatened to use police
or Guard force to invade and take control
of business lawfully owned by Mohawk,
Seneca and other Iroquois families or
business of Sovereign Tribal ownership.
These first nations responded by closing
state and federal roads leading into
and through the sovereign First Nation
lands (often referred to as Reservations).
Mainline mass media did a grotesque
Volume 15
job with insignificant reporting of the
Native American view. In part this may
be design or default given the 500 year
history of aggression against First Nations.
Speculation is not unwarranted that news
paper, radio and television reporting at the
time tailored their negative reporting of
Native action to appease the unscrupulous
cravings of regional non-Native business
that resented the ridiculously nominal
economic advantages some of the
Reservation businesses had with some
breaks in taxation.
Law does not permit one nation to tax
another nation without due process of
lawful negotiation. Rarely is there a
situation in which one sovereignty exacts a
tax onto another country. For instance, New
York does not charge and collect taxes from
neighboring New Jersey or Canada. In like
manner, New York has no jurisdiction to
impose taxes on what is dubbed reservation
lands of the Native American Indians. This
is the same in reverse: The Reservation
does not tax New York. All governments
just sited enjoy benefits from each other,
but with out taxing each other. At least it
should be this way.
Natives, Canadians, and citizens of New
Jersey will pay whatever taxes, such as
sales taxes, when they enter New York.
New Yorkers do the same in visiting their
neighboring states. None of these states
are permitted to reach into another state
to exact taxes. There is great difficulty in
getting non-Natives to understand their
obligations to such respect and custom
when it comes to honoring legally binding
treaties with the First Nations.
Many otherwise upstanding non-Natives
citizens were critical of the road closing to
the reservations by First Nations because
they were not well informed of these laws
and obligations. They were not aware that
it was the Government of New York and its
legal representatives that violated laws, not
the Iroquois Confederacy. The First Nations were exercising their legal options in
closing their borders to the aggressive party that broke the law. Members of my own
religious congregation, The Society of St.
Paul3 , were inconvenienced by these road
closings by the Seneca nation in the Derby
and Buffalo area of New York State. These
priests and brothers had to take a much
longer route on an inferior road system in
order to get back and forth to our congregationʼs publishing house on Staten Island in
New York City. This added several hours
driving time to get across state.
Our confreres were mislead by media and
by the accidents of history to think the road
closings were unwarranted and illegal. Our
confreres were of the impression (many
still are) that all fault and blame rested
with the Seneca and other branches of the
Iroquois confederacy. One Brother even
suggested building a wall around the reservations in New York to keep all “Indians”
(his term not mine) out of New York. This
is a very gentle and compassionate Brother
who was led to believe this to be a proper
response. He was influenced by parents
and school teachers and religious leaders
in this country to believe that no rights remain to Natives on or off reservations. He
is a product born and raised with the immoral laws enacted between 1948-1971
known as the American Indian Termination and Relocation4 acts.
This is but one example of how millions of
non-Native Americans are duped into believing issues of cooperation between Native Tribes and the federal, state and local
governments is now a mute issue.
Treaty violations in Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Michigan on the part of the non-indigenous governments, business and churches
have led to much violence against Native
People since the 1960ʼs and up to the present day. Supreme court rulings in the late
1990ʼs and since 2000 has eased much of
the hatred and violence by ruling in favor
of treaty recognition. This re-enforced the
need for local government, state government, and federal government to negotiate
with Tribal governments. There have been
many positive results from a multitude of
civilized meetings between lawfully recognized parties. Much of the racial hatred
and mistrust of the last 50 or so years has
rapidly dissipated in those regions most directly involved in treaty disputes.
Issues for the Churches
1. First Blood, the indigenous martyrs
There is a message I have shared with many
Bishops across the United States. I have received a few kindly responses, but otherwise am ignored. Not a single non-Native
Church Leader of any denomination has
ever officially and directly responded to
the basis of the following claim:
There is not a single church, synagogue,
temple or any other form of worshiping
house to be found anywhere within the
Americas (North, South and Central American and all islands) of those religions originating overseas in which the land and first
blood was given by Native People so that
such edifices of worship can be built.
I think our Bishops and other top religious
leaders, seminary directors, formation directors, pastors, and so forth would do
well contemplating this claim and deciding
what it means for them and the future of
their organizations, and to the relationship
of Native People and these religious assemblies. A worthy response might not be
available at this moment, but for the sake
of peace and justice, a gospel like Christ
centered response is in order before much
time elapse. Remember, this war of aggression against the First Nations has been going on for 500 years. In what ways will the
Church work to ending this unjust, drawn
out and merciless war?
The Churches have actually requested military strength to subdue Native People into
Fall Quarter 2005
becoming slaves, to extract gold for the
missionariesʼ families and governments
across the seas, and to annihilate any and
all Natives that fail to comply. “In Jesusʼ
name,” they prayed.
In their own hand, these missionaries, including Blessed Juniper Serra, OFM, admitted to and proudly recorded these inhumane events.
Missionaries were duped into thinking that
they brought God to these shores and into
this land. That is not only a heresy according to their religion, itʼs an impossibility.
The Creator has always been in His creation – all of it. God walked with the First
Nations long before Columbus got lost and
was found wondering about these shores
by Natives. Christian missionaries carried
with them, the Gospel message. It was not
always dispersed in accordance with the
loving Divine Spirit of that message. Most,
if not all, First Nations have always been
monotheistic; a claim the Europeans cannot make for themselves.
There is an understanding that differs vastly from one First Nation to another regarding the spirit world. Yet, from what I have
been able to understand so far, all believe
that there is only one divine spirit responsible for all creation, physical and spiritual,
the world and infinitely beyond. All other
spiritual beings are subject to the power
of this one God. Judeo-Christianity speaks
of many spiritual beings including angles.
These spirits may be capable of supernatural power, but only as invested into them
by the one God.
Many Native Elders have expressed a frustration that so many Church leaders do not
recognize that God was always known to
Native People; or these Churchy folk may
give the lip service of saying so, but not
acting as if they truly believe this. Many
missionaries of old and of today behave
as if only they have a story to tell and a
message to give. They become anxious and
upset when, after listening to these stories,
we offer our own stories to share. They do
not want to listen.
I was told, just a few months ago, by a
priest from a far away island nation, “I do
not want to embrace your native spirituality.”
The vast majority of priests and other kinds
of missionaries to our land have indicated
as much these past 500 years. He came to
change me and all our relatives. He did not
come to embrace us, learn our language,
or to show us any respect equitable to his
foreign ways. He came, in his understanding to help out the Church in this country.
He came with a noble and truly religious
purpose. He was subconsciously trained to
come into a new land and repress the first
people of that land. This is a cultural conditioning.
Continued on Page 6
Page 3
Summer Residential Program:
Gathering of the Tribes
Aug. 20-27, 2005
Jose Sanchez and Romeo Veloz weaving beautiful baskets during Lorene
Sisquocʼs demonstration. Students
had a hands on experience weaving
baskets.
A lot of dancing during the Gathering of
Tribes Entertainment Night. Carrie Garcia, Cahuilla UCR alumnus, leads the
students in dancing while the California
Bird singers sing the humming bird song.
Students line up to form a team for the basketball
tournament in the UCR Recreation Center.
Action at the Gathering of the Tribes softball game.
Shawnee Schmidt hits the ball as Alyssa Najera,
catcher, looks on, and James Rodriguez runs to the
Joesph John Vasquez, Ruth Ward, and Winslow Bullchild
pit for cover.
take time to converse.
Nikishina Myron, Hopi, instructed the
computer class for the Summer Program. Mr. Myron graduated from UC
Irvine in computer science and is now
working on a graduate program in enviromental science.
Danny Myron and Ruth Ward relaxing during break time before the evening meal.
Front Row Left to Right: Lidia Garcia, Reyna Floresvillar, Cristina Garcia, Back Row Left to Right: Davetta Jo Hawk, Rene Jaime, Aderien Lee
Kormes, Freddy Medina, and Jose Sanchez.The group pose show the bonding of the students with their residential assistants. The RAʼs did a fantastic
Daniel
job in bringing the students that were quiet to open up and became team
Razo, from players. Students learned communication and leadership skills.
NOLI IndiCarla and
an School,
displays
Tania relaxing
his award
after a beautiwinning
Jesus Rodriguez, the Yaqui,
ful morning
Thanks takcoordinator of the program
ing t-shirt.
kept close eye on the activities
ceremony,
making sure that everything
and walk.
was done right.
Page 4
Fall Quarter 2005
Volume 15
Activities
Ralph Bravo
Erskin Smith
Mr.
Smith
searched
for jobs on the phone
Levi Miles, Patrick Begay, Davida Nez, Crystal Bendle, Angela
Stanley (Miss San Carlos), Mariah Kitchyan, Gracie Miles, India after he graduated from UCR. A few days
Miles, and Crystal Begay. San Carlos Apache youth modeling
after he graduated, while sitting on the
their tradition ware at a fashion show on June 18, 2005 celebrated patio of a Coffee shop, someone came up
at the Apache Gold Pavalion in Cutter, AZ. Students were recruitto him and offered him a job as a manager
ed as far as Arizona for the summer residential program. Eight
students came from San Carlos, Whiteriver, and Mojave Valley. for a menʼs clothing store. Mr. Smith is
modeling menʼs ware for a brief time before applying to grad school, perferably at
UC Berkeley. Working out helps!
The students of the Summer Residential Program gathered
together after a week long of fun and learning. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that many asked for next years program to be two weeks long. Camaraderie and good friendships
were established. Students had the opportunity to develop
various skills in cluding leadership and good communication
skills. “All my relations!”
The students take a picture with one of the Cahuillaʼs nationally known prominent leader, Katherine Saubel. She gave them
a brief history of her people and showed them some artifacts in
the Malki Museum located on the Morongo Reservation.
Volume 15
Mr. Bravo takes a break from his
work and poses for the camera. Although Ralph left to work for the
Los Angeles Unified School District,
he will still be working with us on financial aid.
Jose Aguilar, UCR student, and Ralph Bravo,
FASFA-man, cooling off and relaxing under a
tree.
Steve, of the Oholone Costanoan
Rumsen Tribe of Carmel, dances
proudly at the Medicine Ways
Conference of 2005.
Christina and Romeo really enjoyed the
summer program. They both learned a
tremendous amount of information about
themselves and other traditions.
Cinthya Gonzales is the Treasurer
of NASA this year. She is in her
3rd year and is majoring in Sociology.
Fall Quarter 2005
Page 5
Native American Scholar
Vine Deloria dies
By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain
News, November 14, 2005
Revered Native American scholar
Vine Deloria Jr. died Sunday at
a Denver area hospital, friends
confirmed this morning.
Rick Williams, president of the
Denver-based American Indian
College Fund, said Mr. Deloria had
battled an unspecified illness for the
past several weeks. Mr. Deloria was
a longtime University of Colorado
professor and award winning scholar
best known for his many books,
including “Custer Died For Your Sins”
and “God Is Red.”
Williams said Mr. Deloria was 73. He
retired from CU in 2000 and had been
living in the Golden area.
No details were available this morning
from Mr. Deloriaʼs family.
“He was one of those individuals
who really kept Indian people from
becoming extinct,” said Williams.
“He was politically active early
in his career, with the National
Congress of American Indians, and
he really helped turned the nationʼs
view around, about Indian people,”
saidWilliams.
“He was also probably one of the
first recognized political, cultural and
historical geniuses, who was allowed
to develop the intellectual thought
of Indian people. He was one of my
teachers, and I just had the utmost
respect for him.”
Continued from Front Page
PUVUNGNA
I returned the next week and noticed
people getting bolder by bringing their
dog(s) to defecate right next to the
stones that encircle the main site!
Words cannot express my feelings as I
realized that a human being could hate
another human being with such intensity. There are no stories comparable to
this in popular culture today, of similar
acts being done at National Museums,
monuments, or such. As a Christian,
this is equally appalling. Humans are
the same everywhere, “we are all of
one blood”, the Bible says.
It is my duty as a fellow member of the
human race to inform the local
tribal community and leaders of this inhumanity. I would not want this to happen to what I hold dear, it should not be
the case for any other people.
Page 6
My only recourse at this time is to inform the leaders and possibly suggest a
possible resolution, or begin to throw
out an idea that could spark other
means to correct this despicable act.
One idea could be to set up a committee (comprised of legal and community
leaders) that would force the University or LB City to take responsibility in
preserving the site comparable to other
historical sites. This should include a
structure built around Puvungna with
limited open access (i.e. hours of operation, inaccessible to pets or wild
animals, etc) or developing a cultural
center as an extension center to Rancho Los Alamitos. This would prevent
mean-spirited people from overrunning the area. The value in preserving
a historical site, to say the least, is in
the interest of everybody. Puvungna
was saved, but now it needs to be protected.
Respectfully,
Joel A. Montes
e-mail: [email protected]
phone: 714-470-9292
Continued from page 3
Longest War
For over 500 years the Church leaders expressed repression of what they viewed as
a savage, undisciplined and pagan people
hostile to the will of God. None of them
thought or think of us is true. I will gladly
assist this particular priest in packing his
bags and sending him back to where he
came from if he did not come here to respect honour and uphold our sacred ways
and our sacred relationship with God.
When in Rome, the saying goes, do as the
Romans do. So, when in the lands of the
Anishinabe, or the Lakota, Taino, Dine,
and all other First Nations, do as they do.
This is the just and Christian way in the example of St. Paul, apostle to the Gentiles.
There is nothing noble or Christian about
suppressing another culture. There is no
kindness or Christian spirit in that priestʼs
words. He is a man of God, and he is a
Christian. We all fail in some way. But to
those whom more was given, Jesus says,
more will be expected. We do expect more
from ministers of the Word.
2. Respect for the Dead Cemeteries and
the Churches
A serious issue for the current day regards
respecting cemeteries. Typical of most
denominations, we are presented to the
Church at a very young age. We are baptised, we are given instructions, and we are
told to trust in our teachers. Most of us are
married within a church and will be buried
from a church. Obtaining and regulating
cemeteries has been of prime concern with
the Churches in this country. Every culture has developed some sort of ritual and
custom regarding respecting the dead. The
graves of our beloved are to be respected as
we await the Resurrection of the Dead and
the final judgement.
This respect, however, does not apply to
Native American family graves. This is the
law of the land and, sadly to say, the practice of many Churches – not to respect the
graves of Native People. Some time in the
last 12 months, I read about the founder of
a new religious congregation out in California5 . These are friars dedicated to serving
the very sick of the very poorest of people.
I greatly admire their work and I pray for
their success and that many new vocations
come to this newly founded congregation
of dedicated Christian men. There might
be women or nuns in the same order, but I
donʼt recall reading that.
I was impressed by everything I read in
the interview, except for one small passing mention of how he enjoyed desecrating
Indian Graves as a young altar boy. Those
words just came out without a blink of the
eye and the reporter put it in his article and
the editor of the official Catholic publication never thought anything of the remark.
This outstanding priest, serving the poorest
of Godʼs children came right out and said
that as an altar boy he used to go across the
street to a crumbling old mission and dig
for Indian bones and artifacts. As a child
and as a full grown, highly educated and
dedicated man of God, he was and still is
proud of the fact that he dug up the graves
of Native American families. He has absolutely no respect for the dead when it comes
to this one particular race of people. I truly
believe him to be inspired of the love of
Christ and St. Francis of Assisi. Iʼm certain that if he saw these words, he would
change for the better in an instant.
Iʼm sorry to say, but I donʼt expect such
an instant conversion from quite a large
number of other Christian leaders, including most of our Bishops, Pastors, and those
in leadership role of our seminaries and
houses of religious formation. This racial
inequity has become part and parcel of
our Churchʼs history in this land. This disrespect for Native graves is culturally ingrained, and has become part of our faith
teaching or at least our faith practice.
There is a private Catholic School in San
Juan Capistrano, not officially associated
with the Catholic Episcopal jurisdiction,
which is currently building an athletic
complex over the graves of the Ajchachamen cemetery, one of the First Nations
of the Los Angeles region. The school is
named J Serra Catholic High School, and
is founded by Timothy Busch and a collection of others serving as board members.
J Serra is named for the Spanish Franciscan missionary who chartered much of the
early Spanish missions in California. Serra, despite his wicked record of repressing
Native people, has been declared a Blessed
within the Catholic Churchʼs cannon of
blessed and saints.
Appeals have been made to local bishops
to speak out on the immorality of this grave
desecration by a Catholic school. Some of
the bishops consider the desecration an
honour to native people because a statue
was offered by Mr. Busch. Others claim it
is not their concern or responsibility. Other
Fall Quarter 2005
bishops are looking into the matter.
This is a matter of open and flagrant aggression against Native People condoned
by government and church alike. Thus the
longest war in history continues.
Aggressive taking of land, in this case a
long and continuous use cemetery would
be considered an act of war by any other
nation and would have been addressed accordingly. It is only within the denials of
the human imagination one can say this is
not a war of aggression. It is waged by the
most powerful against a very marginalized
and weakened people. The place of Church
Leaders is to stand with the weak and marginalized. These are the instructions of
Pope John Paul II in a number of his addresses to the Bishops.
Thus, with no mistaken interpretation of
what John Paul II has stated, I repeat my
opening commentary to this section, “Issues for the Churches; First blood, the indigenous martyrs.”
There is not a single church, synagogue,
temple or any other form of worshiping
house to be found anywhere within the
Americas (North, South and Central American and all islands) of those religions
originating overseas in which the land and
first blood was given by Native People so
that such edifices of worship can be built.
(Footnotes)
First Nation – A reference to the indigenous
nations, those who first had nation status in
the Americas before the so called “Age of
Discovery” and the colonization of these lands
by Europeans.
1
Iroquois Confederacy – A five nation (and
at times up to 7 nation) confederacy of First
Nations associated through cultural and
linguistic relationship. The confederacy is
and always was internationally recognized.
This confederacy entered into legally binding
contract with Great Britain, France and the
United States of America. These treaties
have not been canceled. U.S. law, backed
consistently by the federal Supreme Court has
always necessitated the process of governmentto-government negotiations any time either
party requires updating or clarifications. In this
instance, the government and governor of New
York did not acknowledge their obligation to
these treaties.
2
Society of St. Paul - A Catholic congregation
of Priests and non-ordained Brothers in
ecclesiastical evangelical vows living a
monastic styled life. They are dedicated to
all forms of mass media to spread the Gospel
message.
3
Termination and Relocation - These are
a series of laws that sought to, and failed
to, terminate all sovereign treaty with the
First Nations. National and Church policy
considered it beneficial to Native People if
they were to abandon all scred inheritance and
leave the reservations to the desired of big
business interest. The so called Indian schools
programmed Native Children to become an
underpaid, low skilled work force for targeted
major industrial cities.
4
New order of Friars serving the sick
poor - They exist in the Los Angeles
Archdiocese. I read this in the diocesan
Catholic newspaper.
5
Volume 15
Continued from Front Page
EXPLOITING INDIAN
Sheʼs seen friends trade sex for meth.
Sheʼs seen one get her own children
hooked on the drug, which among its
side effects suppresses the appetite.
“We used to joke that she kept her
whole family high so she wouldnʼt
have to feed them,” said the 28-yearold Northern Arapaho woman, who
has been clean for 15 months after a
three-year addiction.
Washakie knows the drug, almost
unheard of here before 2000, is slowly
destroying this central Wyoming
reservation. She also knows where it
comes from: a Mexican drug gang that
arrived here more than four years ago
hoping to shift the alcohol addiction of
many tribal members to meth.
“Honestly, I think that was the best
business decision they ever made,”
Washakie said sadly. Authorities
could hardly argue. According to
information gathered during an
investigation that has so far led to
more than 17 arrests, that gang is the
Sinaloan Cowboys, an organization
with a sophisticated structure and a
Fortune 500 business plan -- when
youʼre a drug cartel looking to expand,
go where the addicts are.
Over a period of more than four
years, the gang funneled nearly 100
pounds of meth with a value of more
than $6.5 million into and around the
reservation.
At least three gang members were
dispatched from a Utah-based cell to
reservation towns. They rented houses
and met girlfriends. Using American
Indian women, they gained entree
to the reservation and established a
network of more than a dozen dealers,
many of them American Indian.
“They identified the reservation as an
addict-rich environment, a population
that for years had been addicted to
alcohol,” said Robert Murray, an
assistant U.S. attorney in Cheyenne.
He said information on the gangʼs plan
to infiltrate the reservation had been
garnered from multiple sources.
A plan born of deep cynicism, it
was also a phenomenal success. In a
matter of five years, tribal leaders say,
meth went from a marginal drug to a
virtual torrent on this 2.2 million-acre
Volume 15
reservation.
“Itʼs an epidemic, and I donʼt think
weʼve reached the peak,” said Mark
Russler, executive director of Fremont
Counseling Services, which treats
addicts. Russler said the number
of meth addicts at two facilities in
Lander and Riverton -- the regionʼs
largest -- jumped from 5 percent or 6
percent of clients in 1999 to more than
25 percent.
From 2003 to 2004 -- a year tribal
police saw the worst increase in
meth use -- criminal charges for
drug possession on the Wind River
Reservation increased 353 percent.
During that period, assaults tripled,
theft nearly doubled and child abuse
increased by 85 percent.
Arrests and several convictions,
including the sentencing of one of the
cell leaders to life in prison in July,
have slowed the advance of the drug
here, authorities say, but many tribe
members say theyʼve seen little effect.
“There are so many people using, you
can see them just walking around the
store” here, said Georgia CʼHair, a
reservation treatment counselor and
former meth addict.
“Their skin is ashen. Those repetitive
movements and jerks. Itʼs what addicts
call tweaking,” she said.
Alcohol to meth
Investigators say the Sinaloan
Cowboysʼ success here offers a
frightening picture of methʼs rapid
rise in Indian Country, providing a
snapshot into how the stimulant has
grown to rival alcohol as the drug of
choice on reservations throughout the
West.
Experts say that about half of
addictions on reservations still are
to alcohol. But meth has moved
so quickly that it has left tribal
governments across the region reeling.
Struggling to catch up, some leaders
even have ceded fiercely protected
tribal sovereignty in exchange for
help. Two major busts on Wind
River in the past two years were
the result of an unprecedented law
enforcement coalition that included
the Drug Enforcement Administration,
the Wyoming Division of Criminal
Investigation, local tribal police
and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Sprawling across a rolling prairie at
the foot of the Wind River Mountains,
the reservation appears the last place
that would attract Mexican drug gangs
that flourish in the immigrant barrios
of Americaʼs major cities.
Rural and remote, the reservation is
home to 6,400 American Indians split
mostly between two tribes, the Eastern
Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho.
Apart from Riverton, which is largely
white, the reservationʼs few small
towns are destitute collections of
mostly sagging homes and run-down
trailers.
A 1998 tribal study found that 38
percent of American Indian adults
on Wind River were unemployed
and that 57 percent lived in poverty.
But from the perspective of gang
members, the reservation had an
important plus: Jurisdictional barriers
normally prevent state and local police
from operating on tribal lands. And
despite the apparent poverty of Indian
country, many tribal members receive
monthly checks from mineral royalties
or other tribal income. Members of the
Mexican gang discovered that alcohol
sales on other reservations spiked
after members received their checks,
sources told investigators, and they
believed they could tap into that cash.
“It was natural to try to transfer that
addiction from alcohol to meth,”
Murray said.
The gangʼs tentacles reach across a
vast swath of territory from California
and the Northwest through much of
the Rocky Mountains, investigators
say. Authorities describe the Sinaloan
Cowboys as a street gang that
distributes drugs for the Sinaloan
cartel, one of Mexicoʼs most brutal
drug-trafficking organizations.
While the gang is active in several
cities, investigators say reservations
seem to hold a special attraction.
As early as the mid-ʼ90s, members
of the same Ogden, Utah-based cell
were dealing on reservations in South
Dakota and Nebraska, Murray said.
The gang arrived in central Wyoming
In the 1990s, first distributing meth
to mostly white customers in Lander
and Riverton. But sometime in
2001, investigators say they set their
sights on the Wind River, with cell
members moving onto the reservation
permanently, either with girlfriends or
in a rented trailer, investigators said.
Fall Quarter 2005
It was a tried-and-true tactic for
the gang: One of the cell members
-- Marcelino Rocha -- already
had several children with an
Indian woman near a Nebraska
reservation, where the gang
distributed meth in the late 1990s.
Overseen by the cellʼs leaders,
brothers Julio and Martin SagasteCruz, the gang smuggled a pure
form of meth -- manufactured in
“superlabs” on the Mexican border
-- in the drive shafts of sport utility
vehicles to Utah and finally onto
the reservation. The organization
was exceptionally efficient,
authorities say. Including the cell
leaders, five to six gang members
managed a network of more than
a dozen dealers, who in turned
distributed enough meth for 45,000
doses.
Community cost
Fafa Hereford, who is Eastern
Shoshone, saw those drugs only
through the devastation they
wreaked upon her family.
A sister and brother both became
hooked. They would turn
suddenly violent and experience
hallucinations, she said. Ultimately,
her sister lost her children, who
now live with Herefordʼs parents.
Jason Brown, an Arapaho who is
in treatment for meth addiction,
said the drug is easier to get on
the reservation than marijuana.
Itʼs much cheaper than cocaine,
and the high lasts longer. When he
was using, heʼd go on month long
binges, barely sleeping. When he
did sleep, Brown said he would
wake up and put a gram of meth in
his coffee. Sometimes, he wouldnʼt
return home for days.
“I wouldnʼt eat. All I wanted
is more meth. They have these
multivitamin packs. Iʼd take one of
those and I was good to go,” said
Brown, 30.
Tribal officials say the cost to the
community is enormous.
Women are having miscarriages
because of the drug. Addicts steal
from family members to support
their habits. Abuse of the elderly is
on the rise.
Continued on Back Page
Page 7
Continued from Page 7
Exploiting Indian
The reservation has the third-largest
caseload for Child Protective Services
in the state, behind only Casper and
Cheyenne, the stateʼs two largest
cities.
And with no inpatient treatment
programs for meth anywhere in
Wyoming, the two tribes are forced to
consider building one of their own, a
project that will likely cost millions of
dollars, said Willie Noseep, a member
of the Eastern Shoshone Business
Council, the tribeʼs governing body.“It
has an all-encompassing effect on
all our programs,” Noseep said.
And the reservationʼs close-knit
community, a source of pride here,
only helped speed the drugʼs spread,
tribal members say. “If you introduced
it to someone else, youʼd get it for
free for a little while. That was a way
to pay for your habit for a couple
more months,” said Washakie, the
recovering addict.
Through an ex-boyfriend, Washakieʼs
life became wrapped up with the
Mexican gang and its dealers. Her
partner belonged to the family of one
of the gang memberʼs girlfriends,
Geraldine Blackburn. After a year
of being together, he began to beat
her. She lost her four children for
neglecting them.
Washakie said that gang members
used Blackburnʼs house on the
reservation as a base, though a heavily
guarded one.
As Spanish-speaking men came and
went, it was impossible for tribal
members to approach the house unless
they had been vouched for by the
gangʼs inner circle.
Sometimes gang members would
purchase houses for local dealers,
tribe members say. Itʼs those kinds
of resources that make the Sinaloan
Cowboys and other Mexican gangs
such a potent threat here.
Brian Eggleston, a special agent for
the Wyoming Division of Criminal
Investigation, said that although the
organization has been dealt a blow, itʼs
likely to quickly send in new members
and start again. “This organization is
making too much money to just quit,”
Eggleston said. “Theyʼve got a retail
business there, and they arenʼt going
to close their doors because theyʼve
had a bump in the road.
Calendar of Events
December 9-11, 2005
9th Annual Winter Gathering
Coachella, CA
(760) 775-3239
May 6-7, 2006
UCLA Pow Wow
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 206-7511
December 17, 2005
Singing of the Birds
Bird Song and Dance Festival
Palm Springs, CA
(760) 778-1079 ext. 105
May 19-21, 2006
25th Annual Medicine Ways
Conference & Pow Wow
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
(951) 827-4143
[email protected]
January 27-29, 2006
M.C.T. Pow Wow
Gila River Indian Community
Sacaton, AZ
(520) 562-6087
February 11-12, 2006
Wild Horse Pow Wow
Torrance High School
Torrance, CA
(310) 987-1274
March 11-12, 2006
Cal State Long Beach Pow Wow
Long Beach, CA 90840
(562) 985-8528
July 22-28, 2006
Gathering of the Tribes
Summer Residential Program
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
(951) 827-4143
[email protected]
July 28-30. 2006
38th Annual Pow Wow
Southern California Indian Center,
Inc.
Fountain Valley, CA 92728
(714) 962-6673
[email protected]
INDIAN TIMES
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the INDIAN TIMES newspaper do
not necessarily reflect the opinions or
views of the University of California,
the Regents of the University of
California, UCRʼs faculty, staff, or
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and written in each article belong
exclusively to the author of the article
in question.
INDIAN TIMES is coordinated
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Phone: (951) 827-4143
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© INDIAN TIMES — 2005