Edited by

SkyWarrior

{The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of ouachitalk.com, it's owners or editors.}

>>>> It appears that the "Pony Soldier" attacks against Native American Religion did not stop in the 1800's. The "Hang-Around-The-Forts" and their Wasichu Masters are doing it in this century as they did in the past three! We may have to go back 'underground' and perform these ceremonies in secret as it was in the post-Wounded Knee era. <<<<

Please read the following releases concerning the destruction of a Sun Dance by Navajo Tribal Police, B.I.A., and Hopi Rangers on August 17th. 2001

.....SkyWarrior

Dear Big Mountain supporters,

I have just received an emergency phone call from the land. This morning
Friday August 17, 2001 at 5:30 a.m. Hopi Rangers, BIA police, and Navajo
Police entered the Anna Mae Sundance grounds and began dismantling the
arbor. The sacred Tree of Life was also removed. A car has been
impounded and a Dineh youth has been arrested. I am omitting their
names until I can get permission to post them. There is an urgent call
for supporters, observers, and media.

I will let you know as I receive more details.

Sharon

To all Big Mtn Supporters,
 
Here is another update on Camp Anna Mae attack by Hopi Police this
morning.

About an hour ago I received a call from Elivra Horseherder about a
recent attack at Camp Anna Mae.  Elivra says over 50 Hopi Police came
into Camp Anna Mae this morning began tearing up various tents, kitchens
etc. and then arrested what it appears to be MORE than one person.

Elvira thinks <...deleted...> may have been arrested and was concerned
that all of them may be arrested again. She was very concerned for their
well being and asked that the world be notified of this latest attack.

The request, as Sheridan from AIM Florida mentioned is to bring in
MEDIA---some have already been contacted---and to have witness to these
atrocities.

Another concern is whether or not the Sundance Tree/arbor were hit. As
yet it is unclear as to whether the arbor was destroyed or not. We are
still waiting to hear about that, and of course prayers are necessary
for the Spiritual leader and his family, as well as the Sundancers. 

This is a serious act of aggression which is impacting the elders. Please
help in any way you can.
thank you for your support,

antoinette claypoole
=================================
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:42:36 -0700
From: Michael Gerell <DELETED>
Subject: Urgent! BIA is tearing down Anna Mae Sundance arbor

Big Mountain Supporters:  It is with great sadness and not a little
anger that I must pass on to you information I received in two urgent
phone calls this morning.  The Corporate Hopi Rangers along with units
from the BIA police and the Navajo County Sheriffs (60 cops by one
estimate) have seen fit to take it upon themselves to begin tearing down
the Sacred Sundance Tree and the surrounding arbor at the Sundance
grounds at Anna Mae Camp on Big Mountain.  This is an agreagous and
stunning escalation of the continuing harassment and religious rights
violations that took place this July when these same law enforcement
agencies attempted to keep the sacred ceremony from happening at all. 
<...deleted...> was at the homestead when the troops arrived and was
arrested while attempting to document the disrespectful and violent
destruction.  <...deleted...> may have also been arrested, but this has
yet to be confirmed.

This heinous crime against the Peoples rights to religion and land is
akin to the destruction of any church, synagogue, or temple.  We call on
all people of faith to stand up in support of these traditional Dineh
People. Please call Gail Norton at the dept of the Interior, the head of
the regional BIA and the Hopi Tribal Council and tell them that what
they are doing is a crime according to international law and also
according to the Native American Religious Rights act.

The People are calling for any and all supporters who can get themselves
out to the Altar to come there to witness and hopefully stop the
destruction of this sacred structure which carries the prayers of all
who participated in the Sundance there for the last 18 years.

Please feel free to contact me for any further updates on this
situation. I have been told that the next target may be the burial site
of the late elder who passed away just before the Sundance in July.  And
forced evictions may not be too far behind in the plans of these
misguided agents of the corporate giants that direct and pay for the
destruction on the Altar and elsewhere on Mother Earth.

Walk in Beauty

m.g.

From: "antoinette" <deleted>
Subject: PLEASE POST UPDATE on  Big Mountain Aug 17th RAID
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:00:56 -0700

At three o'clock on the afternoon of August 17th
I spoke with the office of Hopi Tribal Chairman, Eugene Kaye.
It was confirmed that:
 
1. Bulldozers and Chainsaws have destroyed all buildings/Sundance arbor
at Camp Anna Mae.  The office also says that "No personal residences
were destroyed, only Sundance arbor and tree."
 
2.  Two people were cited/arrested:  one young Dine', a "minor" who was
documenting, attempting to photograph the destruction by bulldozers and
chainsaws on his homeland, at the home of his family.  His arraignment
is set for Monday August 20 at a.m. and he is charged with criminal
trespass. The other person ceased/arrested was Arlene Hamilton, who had
previously been charged at an exclusionary hearing by the Hopi Tribal
Council.  She was cited, ceased, and escorted from the reservation
according to Hopi Tribal Chairman office.
 
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&
 
Today, I also spoke with attorney Joe Washington who continues to say
that these charges of criminal trespass are in direct violation of the
rights of the Dine' and they WILL be challenged.
 
And also a phone conversation this afternoon  with a Benally family
member who is now working to raise bond for their relative. To those
Dine' in resistance, and for those of convinced that this is a violation
of human rights, we feel this  this latest round of attacks,  striking
at the heart of a sacred ceremony is a flagrant act of arrogant and
cruel disrespect for all Nations involved. 
 
Also, the Lakota Sundance leader, Joe Chasing Horse,  has  been informed
of this assault, discussing with his helpers what it is that can/will be
done for protection of their families, now that sacred arbor has been
destroyed. 
 
When I told this story to a local S. Oregon person he replied "Are you
saying this JUST happened???? This is not a story from 100 years ago?"
Yes.  This is the 21st century version of respect.
 
There is much talk  in Indian and white country about how these
Sovereign Dine' should just leave and that this land now belongs to the
Hopi.  Yet it is crucial to understand that Hopi Traditionals do not
support the destruction of ceremony, it is Hopi Tribal Council calling
this land their jurisdiction.  With the sanctions of the U.S. Congress. 
AND the Sovereign Dine' Nation has NEVER recognized the jurisdiction of
either the United States (PL 93-531) OR Hopi Tribal Council. 
 
Please pray for the Benally family as now one of their young men  has
been targeted.
Because they refuse to participate in forced relocation designed by a
Tribal Council and U.S. Congress who admittedly seek access to coal and
uranium which lie beneath the sacred altar of Dine'.
 
antoinette claypoole. 
 
Ps.
And in Mississippi there is a bright renegade Cherokee man, Jim
Windwalker,  who has offered to work on creating a civil rights suit
against the Hopi Tribal Council for its acts of destruction toward
ceremony and a way of life.   We will prevail.

The "Official" Hopi press release on the desecration of the Sundance arbor at Camp Anna Mae at Big Mountain can be found at:
http://www.imdiversity.com/article_detail.asp?Article_ID=6283

The following is a description by some of the residents of Big
Mountain, AZ who observed the destruction of the Sundance
ground.

From: >deleted<
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 10:00:03 EDT
Subject: desecration of the sacred Sundance ground

Date: 17.8.01 21:05:38 Romance Daylight Time
From:    >deleted< (Brenda Norrell)
To:    >DELETED<

Today (8-17-01) at approximately 5 a.m., the Office of Hopi
Lands, Hopi Range Management, Resource Enforcement Services,
Hopi Tribal Police, Navajo County Sheriff, and BIA
impoundment trailers entered Camp Ana Mae, a sacred
religious area located in Big Mountain, AZ.
Awakened by sounds of machinery, several witnesses observed
the desecration of the sacred Sundance ground. Land
management employees were observed cutting down arbor logs
and the Sundance tree with chain-saws.  A front-end loader
destroyed sweat lodges, fire pits, sweat rocks, alters, and
the Sundance arbor.  Religious paraphernalia, which included
tobacco ties, flesh offerings, and eagle feathers were
seized or left behind and trampled by machinery.
Eric Crittenton, a resident of Camp Ana Mae, was arrested
while trying to photograph the destruction. Eric, who is a
minor, was home alone at the time of the incident.
Local residents arrived at Camp Ana Mae around 8 a.m. to
take part in a weekly prayer and sweat ceremony.  To their
shock and disbelief, residents were blocked by local, state,
and federal law enforcement.  Officers stated that all
trespassers would be arrested.  Residents counted fifteen
vehicles leaving the area, and included several trailers
piled with confiscated arbor logs and the Sundance Tree.
 

Subject: PRESS STATEMENT: BEGAYE ON BULLDOZING OF SUNDANCE SITE
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:46:33 -0700

THE NAVAJO NATION

Office of the President and Vice President
(Window Rock, Navajo Nation, Arizona)

For Immediate Release                                            
August 17, 2001

Contact: Merle Pete
(520) 871-6352
merlepete@visto.com
PRESS STATEMENT

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BEGAYE ON THE BULLDOZING OF HPL SUNDANCE CEREMONY
SITE BY THE HOPI TRIBE

Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona)--

The Hopi government's decision to bulldoze the Sundance ceremony site at
Big Mountain is deplorable.  In the strongest terms, I object to such a
violent action against the Navajo families who reside on Big Mountain
and who participate, as a part of their spiritual beliefs, in the
Sundance ceremony.  The Hopi government appears to be persecuting these
families for their religious beliefs, as well as for their heartfelt
desire to stay on their ancestral lands and to continue their
traditional ways.

The Sundance ceremony has been performed at Big Mountain for a number of
years at the request of the Big Mountain Navajo families.  It has become
an important part of their spiritual lives.  Like all peoples, including
the Hopis, the Navajo families on Big Mountain should have the freedom
to practice their non-violent beliefs without governmental interference.

Native peoples have, all too often, seen their sacred places damaged or
destroyed by non-Natives.  It is shocking to see one Native government
do the same to another Native community.  The Hopi government's action
seemed to have been intended to intimidate, by a show of force, all the
Navajo families who continue to reside on Navajo ancestral lands within
the Hopi Partitioned Lands.  Let me remind the Hopi government that the
Israeli military uses a similar tactic of bulldozing homes in
Palestinian villages.  The outcome of that strategy has not brought
peace to the Middle-East.

I understand that the Hopi government is frustrated.  The Land Dispute
has taken its toll on everybody--just ask those Navajo families who live
on the HPL and have sought spiritual strength through the Sundance
ceremony. They feel the Land Dispute's harshness more than anyone else. 
I also understand that the Hopi government claims legal jurisdiction
over the Sundance.  But I question whether that jurisdiction gives the
Hopi government the moral right to act as violently as they have.

I raise my objections directly with the Hopi leadership.  The politics
of destruction can start a terrible downward spiral that we must stop
now. At this point, the first step is to secure the release of any
Navajos who were detained by the Hopi police.  Then I would ask that the
Hopi government apologize.  In return, I will commit to working with the
Hopi government to address its reasonable concerns.  We must build
bridges of trust, not walls of fear and intimidation.  We must rely on
reason and diplomacy, and the law, not acts of force, to resolve our
disputes.

The actions of the Hopi government have cast a long shadow over all the
Navajos who reside on the HPL, as well as put chilling effect on the
relationship of our two nations.  Nonetheless, our two people are here,
together, as neighbors --this is the Creator's will.  We should honor
that will with good hearts, good intentions and good actions.

: Robbing the Indians


AZ Daily Star, 8/17/01


Robbing the Indians


Daniel P. Hodel, a cabinet member under former President Ronald Reagan,
outrageously arranged for Arizona's Indians to be cheated out of vast
amounts of money while he was Secretary of the Interior.
A U.S. Court of Appeals decision, reported in Tuesday's Star, said that
in 1985 Hodel ordered his subordinate to conceal a decision by the Board
of Indian Appeals that would have provided the Navajos with enormous
royalties for coal extracted from Black Mesa by Peabody Coal Co. Hodel's
duplicitous action was unconscionable, especially coming from an
individual whose free market blather frequently invoked morality as the
framework for public and private policy.


Black Mesa is a sandstone formation in Northern Arizona, inhabited by
Hopi and Navajo Indians. The northeastern portion of the mesa is leased
to Peabody, which mines a thick layer of low-sulfur coal.
In exchange for the rights to this ore body, Peabody's predecessor,
Sentry Royalty Co., agreed to pay the Navajos a royalty of no more than
37.5 cents per ton. That rate was to be readjusted to a "reasonable"
level 20 years later.


"As that anniversary approached, due to increases in the market price of
coal the rate of 37.5 cents per ton was equivalent to about 2 percent of
gross proceeds. It is not disputed that this was well below
then-prevailing royalty rates," the appeals court decision said.


Peabody and the Navajos entered negotiations over the new royalty rate,
but couldn't reach an agreement. The next step in the process called for
the Department of Interior - specifically the Bureau of Indian Affairs -
to resolve the dispute. The BIA, using an analysis provided by the U.S.
Bureau of Mines, set the royalty rate at 20 percent. Peabody appealed
that decision to the Board of Indian Appeals.


What happened next was a classic case of theft and exploitation. The
Board of Indian Appeals affirmed the 20 percent royalty but Hodel
evidently decided that was too much of a burden for Peabody, so he
withdrew the decision.


Instead of following normal procedures, Hodel sent a memo to John Fritz,
the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs, stating, "I suggest that you inform the
involved parties that a decision on this appeal is not imminent and urge
them to continue with efforts to resolve this matter in a mutually
agreeable fashion." Fritz did as his boss suggested.


The Appeals Court finding also notes that during this period,
representatives of Peabody Coal had "numerous contacts" with Hodel and
other officials of his department. "The Navajo were not told that a
decision on Peabody's appeal had been made in their favor," the court
wrote. As a result, the Indians eventually agreed to a royalty of 12.5
percent.


This sort of despicable behavior should not be ignored. As the court
pointed out, Hodel's job called for him to look out for the Indians.
Instead, he "violated the most fundamental fiduciary duties of care,
loyalty and candor."


The new Appeals Court ruling in favor of the Navajos simply overturns a
lower court decision. We hope the decision leads to a more just remedy.
The Navajos should be compensated for the millions of dollars in
royalties lost because of Hodel's scurrilous behavior.

Reprinted under the Fair Use
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international
copyright law. Full copyright retained by the original publication.

... many prayers ...

dn: daily news code for auto mailbox placement

William "Sky" Crosby, director E C C O
Environmental and Cultural Conservation Organization
Tucson, AZ
Tel 520 749 0585

=========================================
Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue.

Contact Governor Jane Hull at:
602-542-4331 or Fax 602-542-1381
Contact list of appropriate public officials:
http://www.blackmesais.org/relocatethis.html
------------------------------------------

"Hopi Tribal staff stuffed the Tree of Life into a woodchipper and haul
the other remains away in trailers"


Camp Ana Mae, the well-known site of Sun Dances , home to Louise Benally
and her children at the foot of Big Mountain, Arizona has been bulldozed
by Hopi Tribal authorities.


Although it is not yet known exactly when the order came through, the
site is reported to have been cleared Friday August 17 in the early
morning hours, following the arrests for criminal trespass of Louise
Benally's 17 year old son Eric Crittendon and of Arlene
Hamilton-Benally, who were there at the time. Ms. Hamilton-Benally, an
Anglo human-rights activist, and her husband Leonard Benally had held
their wedding reception a few miles away just the day before. According
to Ms. Hamilton-Benally, Eric had been arrested for attempting to
photograph the demolition of the arbor, sweat lodges and Tree of Life
and all other components of the ceremonial area next to his mother's
home. When Ms. Hamilton-Benally approached the officers to ask for his
release into the custody of his family, she was arrested as well.


Hopi Tribal police have the area secured and no one is permitted
entrance at this time.


One local resident has tentatively received permission to enter and
photograph the home site Saturday.


Many conferences and protests concerning the relocation of Navajo and
Hopi people on the division of the former Joint Use Area brought about
through public law PL 93-531 have been held here over the last three
decades. Louise Benally is one of the few remaining residents who
abstained from signing a lease agreement with the Hopi Tribe. Louise
Benally named her home site after the late Ana Mae Aquash, the AIM
activist who was murdered and had her hands cut off for post-mortem
fingerprinting by the FBI in the 1970's for her pursuit of civil and
religious freedom for native people.


Said Cedric Kuwaninvaya of the Hopi Land Team, "This is just one of the
steps that the Hopi Tribe will be taking to enforce its jurisdiction
over the Hopi Reservation." After local residents watched the Hopi
Tribal staff stuff the Tree of Life into a woodchipper and haul the
other remains away in trailers, he continued,"We will keep a close eye
on the former site of the Camp Ana Mae to ensure that the trespassers
(family) do not try and establish another camp at which they hold
unwanted gatherings and celebrate their lawlessness."


For More Information Contact: Rachel Scala rscala@juno.com


Contact list of appropriate public officials:
http://www.blackmesais.org/relocatethis.html


For the latest information about Camp Anna Mae Sundance Grounds, go to
http://www.blackmesais.org/anna_mae_sundance_2k1.htm


Thank you, Black Mesa Indigenous Support

=========================================
Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue.

Dear Big Mountain Supporters,

Arlene Hamilton asked me to post this for her.  Please forgive the delay
since connections to phone lines are rare in Big Mountain.

Yours sincerely,

Marsha



Arlene Hamilton says, On August 17, at approximately 6:45 AM, I went
down with Leonard Benally to John Benally's.  We were informed the Sun
dance arbor was being disassembled by the BIA police and the Hopi tribal
rangers. John Benally informed us that Eric Crittendon was arrested
about 1/2 hour earlier when he woke up to a siege at his home and
customary use area. Eric was taking pictures and trying to stop them
from taking down this sacred tree of life. When we drove down the hill
we saw armed vehicles everywhere around the camp, they had a roadblocks
of 4 armed vehicles so we went around the back, Tracy and I got out of
the vehicle and walked into the camp. We heard loud noises of machinery,
chain saws and shredder machines, they had totally destroyed the arbor.
There were over 17 armed police carrying out this assignment. As I
walked up to the arbor to ask them what was going on and to try to stop
them, two police officers in black clothes began pushing me! around and
they were shoving my shoulders trying to make me angry and I was crying
because it was the saddest thing I ever saw out here and that they were
destroying a sacred ceremonial Nation to Nation Sun dance that is
protected by international law. The police grabbed me by my wrists to my
back, put handcuffs on me and shoved me in a BIA police car. Then they
took me out of that vehicle and put me in a Hopi ranger vehicle and put
me in jail for approximately 3 hours in a holding cell. Over the radio I
could hear them say, there was an Anglo 101 had been taken into custody
and the officers were to pull out. The main reason I went to Camp Ana
Mae is because Eric was alone and he is a young Dine' male and I knew
they would try to make it sound like Eric had done something wrong. So
he clearly was a victim of another military siege for the second time in
a month and I felt as a human rights defender I should stand up and this
is a violation of international law.! Chief Joseph has been leading this
Sundance for 17 years here at the Camp Mae Camp in Big Mountain AZ.

Because of the increase of military presence and lack of water, myself
and 9 Big Mountain people and other Indigenous leaders went to New York
City in April to expose violations out here and to stop the military
interference of the sacred grounds.  We met with the Lehman Brothers
CEO, Richard Fuld, now owners of Peabody Coal Company and his senior
board of directors and the shareholders of Lehman Brothers. We asked
that no military presence and no armed rangers be around ceremonial
sites. When we went there they said we were diplomatic and this is the
reaction we get back on the land where the people are retaliated
against.

It is devastating, they have taken down the entire ceremonial grounds
and the sweat lodge. When I went to file a police report I was denied. 
They told me I was not allowed to file any reports. Finally I went back
to the Hopi police and got a BIA police to take my report charging Wayne
Taylor for criminal acts of genocide and devastation of sacred ground,
but they only took parts of my report.  People here are censored and
need to put pressure to stand up against US police which is inhumane,
make the phone calls, send the letter, now more than ever before because
of the military presence.

Thank you,

Arlene Hamilton

John Benally's post to the Big Mountain list

I want to communicate with you on behalf of myself and the Sundancers
who exercise their beliefs here in Big Mountain.  I want to tell you
what is happening to us in the millennium years.

By now you must have heard about the desecration and destruction of the
Sundance tree here in Big Mountain.  It is the destruction of the belief
of my people. The Hopi Range Management cut up the Sundance arbor, tree
and sweat lodge, they took a chain saw and cut up the Sundance tree. 
They cut the Sundance tree in sections, the tree of life. The Hopi
tribal police, rangers and BIA rangers acted as their security.  They
did this without notifying the people in a formal manner as their
believe and laws require. They just came in without a court order and
invaded the privacy of our homes and our Sundance ground. I think this
is an illegal act. When people were still asleep they invaded, waking us
up with the sound of stock trailers rattling early in the morning and a
back hoe and chain saws.

My nephew Eric Crittendon told me what was happening at the Sundance
camp.  When we got there we saw 3 police blocking the entrance of Camp
Ana Mae and more than 15 vehicles of Hopi tribal police, Hopi and BIA
Rangers. They said they did not want me to take my vehicle into the
Camp. They asked me to park it and I cooperated with them. I said I have
no reverse so I have to make a circle to come back out of here. They
said they called the tow truck. I asked them why are you towing my
truck? I told them I am moving out of the way. They would not tell me
anything so I took my shovel out of my truck and left it there to see
what was happening. My truck is a 1967 Chevy 1/2 ton. They never gave me
any papers to seize my truck and no cause. I want my vehicle back. 
While I was talking to the BIA police Eric and I separated.  He was
arrested by the Hopi police and they would not even tell me what his
charges were.  When we called the Hopi jail and were ! told Eric was
charged with criminal trespassing we got Eric a lawyer and raised the
bond money to get him out of jail.

What the police are doing is intimidation and harassment of people. It
is happening to my people and it is happening right here in our own
home. How can they do this treatment to my people? We are no different
than the Hopi. Where is the equal protection? Who protects us? The only
way to solve the problem is to give the land base back to the Dine'.
This is the only way. P.L. 93-531 and all the other relocation laws are
discriminatory, prejudiced and racist laws. What kind of people can come
in and destroy what is so sacred?

We are afraid that if we do not stop them now by filing an injunction in
federal court the Hopi Range Management with their security will post no
trespassing signs on all resisters homes and bulldoze them.  We believe
this could happen since nothing is sacred to them and the police are
enforcing the law not the Hopi court.

We want to know who pays for these operations? The Hopi Range
Management, Hopi police, rangers and BIA are using funds to destroy our
arbor with heavy equipment. Are they paid special to do what they did
today? How can the BIA provide security actions when Big Mountain
boulevard caved in and has not been fixed for over a week.  This is a
public road and a school bus route.  They only graded the detour so they
could bring in their stock trailers and heavy equipment.  What
departments and agencies are helping to fund the destruction and
desecration? How can these police officers laugh at us, making fun of us
and our beliefs as Dine'. We are still living here at Big Mountain.
That's all. We are not raiding and terrorizing the Hopi villages. 

President Kelsey Begay, the Navajo Nation calls it religious persecution
so we want you to support our request to Roman Bitsuie 520-871-6446 that
the Navajo Nation tribal council pass a resolution stating that no Hopi
or BIA official can cross any portion of Navajo Partition Land (NPL) for
the purpose of hurting the Dine'. We want them to give us funds to go to
federal court and support our defining our sovereign territory. There is
a lot of hate inside of the Hopi governmental officials.  Hopi
jurisdiction is already messed up. The destruction and desecration of
the Sundance grounds demonstrates it.  Please help us get protection for
this group of human beings living here, the Dine' of Black Mesa.

If you can travel to Big Mountain these are the directions from
Flagstaff:

From Flagstaff head towards Tuba City.  Take 160 East towards Kayenta. 
Exit right at Black Mesa Trading Post.  Go on that highway, up the hill,
heading east.  Continue on the paved road past where it turns to a dirt
road by the Black Mesa Pipeline Company.  Then continue on the dirt road
all the way, following detour signs towards Pinon.  When you come to
turnoff where highway starts on the left going to Pinon, do not take
that road.  Take the dirt road to the right.  You will come to a little
wash and curve, continue bearing right, then straight about 11 miles to
Big Mountain.  You can also call the cellular phone numbers listed on
the press release and arrange for an escort.

Thank you for your support.

Please help us get out this press release:

------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release


Hate Crime on Indian Land


For information please contact cellular phones: 928-380-5490,
928-380-6125

August 18, 2001

Big Mountain, AZ. Yesterday, 8-17-01, at approximately 5AM, Mountain
Standard Time, the Office of Hopi Lands, Hopi Range Management, Resource
Enforcement Services, Hopi Tribal Police, Navajo County Sheriff, and US
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) impoundment
trailers entered Camp Ana Mae, a sacred Sundance site in Big Mountain,
AZ. Awakened by sounds of heavy machinery and chain saws, several
witnesses observed the desecration and total destruction of the sacred
Sundance ground. Witnesses observed a para-military squadron of police
surrounding land management employees chain sawing the Sundance tree,
the tree of life and bulldozing the ceremonial structures. A huge back
hoe destroyed sweat lodges, fire pits, sweat rocks, alters, and the
Sundance arbor. Religious paraphernalia, which included tobacco ties,
flesh offerings, and eagle feathers were seized or left behind and
trampled by machinery.

Eric Crittendon awoke his uncle John Benally to tell him about the
destruction of the Sundance site. Eric and John came up to the Sundance
entrance which is Eric's lifelong home site. There were Hopi police
vehicles blocking the entrance. They were told they could not enter the
grounds. John left his truck which was stolen by the police. He walked
up to the Sundance arbor to find it surrounded by police.

John Benally says, Eric Crittendon and I separated while I was talking
to the BIA police. At that time, Eric who just turned 18 years of age
was arrested by the Hopi police and charged with criminal trespassing.
The Sundance is a traditional orthodox Native American religion. This
Sundance is not political, it is a way to pray. This is how we worship
and pray for the healing of our family and all our relations.

Local residents arrived at Camp Ana Mae around 8:00 AM to take part in a
weekly prayer and sweat ceremony. To our shock and disbelief, we who
live in the area were blocked by local, state and federal law
enforcement, told by Officers that all trespassers would be arrested for
criminal trespassing. Residents counted fifteen police vehicles, 2 BIA
impoundment trailers and a flat bed piled with arbor logs, the sweat
lodge and the Sundance Tree. We believe this hate crime is equivalent to
bulldozing Vatican City or Mecca. This land is our spiritual center.

This is the official press release of the residents of Big Mountain, AZ
who observed the destruction of the Sundance ground.

Although this is somewhat dated, I think it is important to recognize
the thinking of the Hopi traditionals regarding the "Hopi Tribal
Council."  The following link is to one issue of the discontinued
Techqua Ikachi, "ENTITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL HOPI AND
HOPI TRIBAL COUNCIL.
http://www.saivasiddhanta.com/Resources/Hopi/issue_41.html
A portion of the text reads:

"So we look on from the spiritual point of view as the so-called Hopi
Tribal Council adopted their own man-made bylaws and constitution. In so
doing they cast away the laws of our Creator, our Traditional
leadership and also our religion. Therefore they are no longer Hopi.
Their identity is lost. They are no longer caretakers of the land. Their
only interest now is in abusing the land, our mother."

>From Indian Country Today
**********
Hopi offer no apology for Sun Dance destruction


Posted: August 22, 2001 - 13:24:48 EST
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today


KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. -- The Hopi Tribe responded to Navajo President Kelsey
Begaye's stern reproach and refused to apologize for destruction of the
Big Mountain Sun Dance grounds, stating that Navajos resisting
relocation will be evicted.

"There will be no apology," said Cedric Kuwaninvaya, chairman of the
Hopi Land Team. "These people are trespassers and they will be evicted."
President Begaye warned the destruction of the Sun Dance grounds at Big
Mountain damaged the relationship between Navajo and Hopi tribal
governments.

Demanding an apology, Begaye said the destruction of the Sun Dance tree
and arbor was a violent act.

"The actions of the Hopi government have cast a long shadow over all the
Navajos who reside on the Hopi Partitioned Lands, as well as put
chilling effect on the relationship of our two nations," Begaye said.
Kuwaninvaya said Hopi have received no apologies and would issue none.
"When a Hopi was arrested for carrying out his religious duty of eagle
gathering by the Navajo police a couple of years ago, there was no
apology from the Navajo Nation leadership.

"When a shrine was destroyed by Navajos during a Hopi pilgrimage, there
was no apology. When Hopi pilgrims were fired on by the Navajo, there
was no apology.

"There will be no apology from the Hopi now.

"Apologies are appropriate only when a wrong has occurred and from the
Hopi point of view the wrong is on the hands of the Navajo resisters and
their non-Hopi supporters.

"To them we say: leave Hopi land. It is irresponsible to undermine and
risk tearing down the pillars of the 1996 Peace Accord for the sake of
political expediency."

However, President Begaye said the action of bulldozing a ceremonial
site was too extreme.

"The Hopi government appears to be persecuting these families for their
religious beliefs, as well as for their heartfelt desire to stay on
their ancestral lands and to continue their traditional ways."

Responding to Begaye's statement that tribal relationships have been
damaged, the Hopi Tribe said Navajos who chose to sign 75-year-lease
accommodation agreements with the Hopi Tribe need the support of the
Navajo Nation in order for it to work.

"The Hopi and Navajo people who chose peace offered by the accommodation
have the support of the Hopi, they need the support of the Navajo
Nation.

"The 1996 Navajo-Hopi land Dispute Settlement Act needs the support of
the Navajo Nation administration. Without this support, the message
becomes very clear -- crime and irresponsibility pays." Kuwaninvaya said
Hopi have entered into peaceful negotiations with Navajo to resolve the
land dispute.

"No single issue has consumed more valuable time and irreplaceable
resources than the century-old dispute between the Navajo and Hopi over
Hopi ancestral land.

"In spite of the turmoil, the Hopi have been steadfast in their belief
that peace between our two people can best be achieved through mutually
agreed upon solutions and agreements.

"Our actions have repeatedly borne this out. The Hopi Tribe is a small
tribe whose history speaks volumes of its patience and dedication to
peace and harmony."

Kuwaninvaya said the Hopi Tribe offered a peaceful solution in 1991 to
the Navajo-Hopi Land dispute through the accommodation agreement to
Navajo families desiring to stay on Hopi Partitioned Lands.

He said Navajo families that remain on Hopi Partitioned Lands who did
not sign the 75-year-lease agreements would be evicted.

"These people are trespassers and they will be evicted.

"The Hopi will never again tolerate a situation where our lands are
stolen, our people abused and our laws ignored.

"When so-called religious ceremonies become little more than political
rallies, both the Hopi and the Navajo lose. The actions of the resisters
do not support peace between the two tribes."



Printed for educational purposes only: The news that is reported is not
necessarily the viewpoint of IndigenousNews


Reprinted under the Fair Use Law:         Doctrine of international
copyright law.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

ENOUGH! Statement by Leonard Benally in response to desecration of
sacred site: Sundance Grounds



To all the people Indigenous and non-indigenous people,


On August 17th at 5 am this was a disgrace, humiliating, and disregarded
our right to pray which is supposed to be protected under the American
Indian Religious Freedom Act, and now they are trying to scare and
frighten the people with their violent behavior. These old tactics from
the 1800s are old government tactics, now this is the 21sty century the
new millennium and we pray and we have faith and we have courage to
stand up against something that is inhumane because we are part of the
earth creation too. We want to be free like everyone else, and live our
traditional lives in peace and dignity on our ancestral homeland for our
future generations and generations to come. 


Today we are saying the words to what happened to us at Big Mountain Aug
17, 2001 at 5 am. Various statements were made and some were good and
some were out right fat lies, because the ten remaining families are all
indigenous to the land Black Mesa, the motherland of Big Mountain. They
are mostly almost all elderly people and very few young people, and we
are humble. And we are poor people but we are rich in spirit with honor
and dignity because they took everything from us: land, water, the
animals and now they are even trying to take the air that we breathe.
But our dignity is not for sale and we will not surrender. We will not
give up, and many of our ancestors on Black Mesa never surrendered. They
suffered to protect their homeland the Black Mesa because yes, even some
of our fore fathers and foremothers were put on a Death March in the mid
1800s to Fort Sumner New Mexico, and along the way they were murdered
and they were starved to death, and some of our people even froze to
death while they were in the Death Camp. There was physical and
spiritual death, but our ancestors had great courage and they did not
die in vain, through all their suffering they only complained a little,
but they survived through all these things and today we are humbled to
say we are the direct descendents of our ancestors that protected Black
Mesa who never surrendered even though they were brutally massacred by
the Spanish invasion and the Kit Carson invasion. And now today we are
invaded again by Wayne Taylor and the BIA who are using the same
systematic strategies to eliminate our culture. And this Resistance is
the only thing our ancestors left for us, our inheritance. Traditions
and language and ceremonial life and the spiritual values, this is what
we are carrying on. We speak our own traditional Dine language and that
gives a different worldview and reflects a kinship to the nature of our
homeland. Our language is the same language that is now recognized forty
to fifty years late by the US government for winning the war for them on
Foreign soil. And now the so called "tribal government" has crumbled
with corporate laws. Its all about corporate needs, not about human
needs, and so we say where is the Democracy and Freedom of Speech? And
where is our right to pray on our traditional customary use areas? They
treat us like foreigners on our own land. They ask for permits and
ordinances and we do not understand these things.


These man made corporate laws and corporate armies are denying the
traditional Dine and Hopi people from praying together, we have now
found ourselves suffering and struggle under the Dictatorship of
corporate Hopi chairman Wayne Taylor Jr. And yes, we were invaded by his
cop BIA army 2 times in the last 30 days. And yes they shut off the
water for the entire community 2 times, in the past month. They brought
in ambulances and the driver acknowledged that he had no medicine box
aboard. When I asked them why they were there (during desecration of the
Sundance grounds early in the morning) they said they were on "standby"
in case if they shoot somebody. This is a psychological war declared 32
years ago when they established PL 93-531 which is a declaration of war
against the culture and the people. They inflict on us miseries and
death, saying that they are not violent. The relocation and the
accommodation agreement is nothing but empty promises and we've seen
with our own eyes that they are "professionals of violence."


They say that an unidentified Navajo woman asked for protection from the
Hopi BIA rangers to protect her livestock and her property. Number one
she is a resident on the NPL side and she collaborated with armed forces
before the roadblocks began around our Sundance Ceremony and at our
ceremony we do not have political allies, nor do we sell snow cones or
t-shirts. It is a prayer ceremony, and we have the right to pray. This
unidentified Navajo woman terrorizes her neighbors, and takes children
to jail and court, as if she is paid to develop criminal records on
these children. Mainly she is territorial of her whole area, and seems
that she may be paid to try to start criminal charges on these children.



Also last night I heard on KTNN news as they were spreading propaganda
using my brothers name and in Dineh language they were using him as an
excuse to come into our community armed with many guns, ammunition and
ambulances. My brother John was praying at our ceremony, sweating in the
sweat loge and Sundancing. The people who were there know John and
witness that he never threatened an officer. 


On the second military invasion the Hopi rangers even stated that John
was much calmer than the woman they arrested while they were desecrating
our Sundance grounds. Yes, they use any excuse they can to rationalize
their violence against us. Most of their excuses are lies and the truth
is now coming out about the genocide and the genocidal policies they are
carrying out on us. If anyone is "lawless" it is the ones using violence
against us. Even though the Hopi traditionals are speaking out against
the Hopi Tribal Government's genocidal policies, the traditional Hopis
are against violence. 


They, the Hopi Tribal Council, say we have outside agitators. But they
have a foreigner Claire Haywood as their spokesperson, someone from the
British Empire who is trained very well to speak Hopi government's
propaganda. They paid her good to lie on the internet and on the
newspapers. Some of our supporters were born on American soil, that
makes them native to America. And our supporters are our witnesses to
the Truth. And yes, they are punished for speaking out the Truth. 


We, the Dineh people have Never invaded the Hopi Villages and we have
Never stolen anybody's land. We never abused any Hopi people. These are
slanderous lies that I heard Cedric say on KTNN radio. All we know for a
fact is that the US government, is the one that stole Indian Land and
water and we are not going to die. We on Big Mountain will never
surrender. 


In our Language there is no word for giving up. And we are going to
rebuild our arbor sweat lodges and the Tree of Life will return. And
this time we will have to protect it from the violence and desecration
of the corporate army which is run by the "peaceful" Hopi Tribe. And now
we place ourselves under the international laws and of course our own
natural laws which show respect for all life. 


In solidarity with all indigenous people who are speaking out for their
aboriginal rights


Leonard Benally
Dineh Resistor

Destruction Of Sacred Sundance Site addrssed


please post widely!!


DESTRUCTION OF SACRED SUNDANCE SITE
By Lone Bear

"Respect" was the keynote of the six-member, all-Indian panel that met
at the Little America conference center in Flagstaff, Arizona, Wednesday
(8-30-01) evening to discuss the desecration earlier this month of a
Sundance site at Big Mountain, Arizona, by the Hopi Tribal Land Team.


Respect for the rights of Indigenous People to live on their ancestral
homelands.  Respect for the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all
people to worship their Creator as they choose.  Respect for sacred
sites such as Big Mountain, as well as all others.  Respect for Mother
Earth and all life.      


In a clearly articulated and sometimes emotionally charged manner,
Navajo Sundance Overseer Alan Jim told the gathering, "It is a very sad
day when we see our own brothers destroy such a sacred site. My heart is
concerned for those who asked for this action to happen, and for those
who carried it out. They have violated a Sacred Road to the Great
Spirit."  Louise Benally, caretaker of the desecrated Sundance site,
said "To desecrate such a sacred site and feel good about it is a sign of
a sick mind."


Traditional Navajo Medicine Man, Jones Benally, said, "We don't want
to be destroyed. We respect and do not destroy any one else's way.  Even
when the white people came to this country and built their churches, we
did not destroy them. We must carry on as brothers and sisters."    


Lakota Chief and Sundance leader Bill Crazy Bull said he was "appalled
at the assault on the Sundance way of life and the assault on the Lakota
Nation."       


Kee Watchman, a Traditional Navajo and delegate to the United
Nations,noted that the U.N. has passed resolutions urging governments to
protect sacred sites and still the Hopi Tribal Council, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and the U.S. government do not respect or protect their
sacred sites.  


On Aug. 17 at 5:30 a.m., the Hopi Tribe's Land Team, aided by the BIA
and the Navajo County Sheriff's Department, raided the Camp Anna Mae
Sundance site with up to 60 officers, a bulldozer, a backhoe, chainsaws
and other equipment. Heavily armed for their assault, they brought along
ambulances,apparently expecting bloodshed.     


Without warning or warrant, the ceremonial site was invaded. The
Sundance Tree of Life, its eagle feathers and prayer offerings as well
as the Arbor, were cut down and shredded, and the entire site was
bulldozed, including the sweat lodges. Two people were arrested and
taken to jail for trespassing.   


After the site was cleared, a posted notice declared that the area was
closed to anyone without permission from the Hopi Tribe. According to
the sign, the site is closed "for natural resource development
purposes".Exploration has disclosed that the site sits on one of the
largest remaining coal deposits in the country. 


Members of the panel pointed out that the Hopi Tribe does not intend
to live on the disputed ancestral land, They only want to mine it.  Such
an action, to the Navajo and most other Native people, is considered an
egregious lack of respect for their Mother Earth as well as a violation
of the Creator's laws for harmonious living. 


===== Black Mesa Indigenous Support (BMIS) is a group of individuals
acting to support the sovereignty of the indigenous people affected by
mining activities on Black Mesa, who face forced relocation,
environmental devastation, and cultural extinction at the hands of
multi-national corporations, and United States and tribal governments.
http://www.blackmesais.org

=========================================
Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue.

Boulder Weekly's Sun Dance article

By Pamela White

For the Boulder Weekly

"The nation's hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any
longer, and the sacred tree is dead." ­ Black Elk

High in the Arizona desert, branches of cedar lie in scattered heaps in
the sand. Among them rest the remnants of prayers ­ strips of red and
yellow cloth, bundles of white sage, and bits of tobacco. Piles of
blankets stand where there once were sweat lodges. In the center of the
debris where the Sacred Tree stood, there is a three-foot-deep hole
surrounded by tire tracks.

This is all that remains of the Camp Ana Mae Sun Dance grounds.
Employees of the Hopi Tribe bulldozed the site on Aug. 17 under the
protection of the Hopi police, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a federal
agency, and the Navajo County Police, an Arizona state agency, leaving
many in the American Indian community shocked and outraged.

The incident marks the latest chapter in the decades-long conflict
between the traditional Diné people of Black Mesa, the U.S. government,
and the Hopi Tribal Council and raises serious questions about religious
freedom for American Indians. It also calls into question the role of
federal and state agencies, which are bound by the Constitution and by
federal law to protect American Indian people's access to traditional
spiritual practices.

The Hopi Tribe's action has alternately been compared to the burning of
black churches in the American South, the destruction of Palestinian
homes by Israelis, and the recent blasting of ancient Buddha statues by
the Taliban in Afghanistan. But while those events were highly
publicized and were met with public outrage, the destruction of the Camp
Ana Mae Sun Dance grounds has gotten little media attention and heard
even less outcry.

Conflict and ceremony

The Hopi Tribal Council claims destruction of the Sun Dance grounds was
necessary to prevent illegal political activity. Hopi staff arrived at
Camp Ana Mae at about 5:30 a.m. and used chain saws and bulldozers to
remove the Sun Dance arbor and the Sacred Tree. Sacred objects,
including strips of cloth representing individual prayers (prayer ties),
bundles of white sage used for purification, and even flesh offerings
were bulldozed into the dirt when the altar was torn down. Two people
were arrested during the raid.

"This is just one of the steps that the Hopi Tribe will be taking to
enforce its jurisdiction over the Hopi Reservation," said Cedric
Kuwaninvaya, chairman of the Hopi Land Team. "We will keep a close eye
on the former site of Camp Ana Mae to ensure that the trespassers do not
try and establish another camp at which they hold unwanted gatherings
and celebrate their lawlessness."

The trespassers to which Kuwaninvaya refers are members of the Benally
family who live there. Elder matriarch Ruth Benally and her extended
family have lived on and around the site, named after murdered Indian
activist Ana Mae Pictou-Aquash, for several generations, raising sheep
and goats and growing corn.

The Benallys became trespassers on their homesite after Congress, at the
urging of a white attorney whose firm secretly represented Peabody Coal
Company, passed a law dividing land used by both Diné and Hopi into Hopi
Partitioned Land (HPL) and Navajo Partitioned Land (NPL).

The Benallys, along with an estimated 15,000 other Diné, were caught on
the wrong side of the fence and were given the choice of signing 75-year
leases that acknowledge Hopi land ownership or facing forced relocation.
To date, 10 families have refused to sign leases because they believe
the conditions of the lease violate their religious rights. About 1,000
Diné remain on HPL.

"There is no word 'relocated' in the Diné language," says Pauline
Whitesinger, an elderly Diné woman and non-signer who lives on Black
Mesa, where she raises sheep and grows corn. "To relocate is to die."

The Benallys, like many of their neighbors, decided to resist
relocation. Although newspapers at the time predicted a "range war," the
Diné turned to prayer instead of violence. In 1985, elders from the
Benally family, together with other Diné and some Hopi, decided they
wanted a new form of prayer to make them stronger and traveled to South
Dakota, where they asked Lakota chiefs to share the ritual of the Sun
Dance. Their journey was viewed as the fulfillment of both Diné and
Lakota prophesy and was treated gravely by both sides with gift-giving
and ceremony.

"It hurts my heart deeply to see this, but I never thought I would live
to see it," says Joseph Chasing Horse, a hereditary Lakota Sun Dance
chief. "We are praying for the Hopi people."

Chasing Horse has been leading the Sun Dance at Camp Ana Mae, the
homesite of Ruth Benally and her extended family, for 16 years. In that
time, the Sun Dance has caught on like wildfire among the Diné. In
recent years, as many as four Sun Dances have been held around Black
Mesa, some attracting 500 dancers. The ceremony is now a part of life
for many Diné and some Hopi.

The purpose of the Sun Dance is give back to the Earth what people have
taken, Chasing Horse says. The ceremony is called wiwang wacipi in
Lakota, which translates roughly to "dancing in balance in the circle of
life," and entails four days of fasting and offering one's own flesh and
blood through piercing. The ceremony is held in a circular arbor which
represents the Sacred Hoop. At the center is the Tree of Life, a
cottonwood, which is covered with prayer ties.

This year's Sun Dance was held in mid-July. Although the Hopi blocked
the road and threatened to cite anyone attending the ceremony with
trespassing, the ceremony continued, dancers bringing in the Sacred Tree
under cover of darkness.

In response, the Hopi police invited five women, most of them members of
the Benally family, to come with them to Kykotsmovi, where Hopi
government offices are located, to speak with tribal Chairman Wayne
Taylor about a permit. When they arrived in Kykotsmovi, Chairman Taylor
was not available. The women asked to be returned to Camp Ana Mae but
were arrested and taken to jail. In addition to the arrests, numerous
citations were handed out.

"That's kidnapping to me," Chasing Horse says. "So they kidnapped our
elders thinking they were stopping the ceremony by taking them out of
there."

It's not the first time the Diné have had difficulty performing the
ceremony at Camp Ana Mae. In 1999, Hopi Rangers, BIA police, and state
police set up road blocks near the site because the Benallys had not
obtained a permit for the ceremony. Hopi Rangers searched cars,
confiscating water, food, and medical supplies, and threatened to arrest
dancers. Many white supporters were turned away. Some feared it would be
the last Sun Dance to take place at Camp Ana Mae.

For the Diné the issue is simple: Black Mesa is their home, and they
have a right to live there and to follow their spiritual traditions
without permits.

Claire Heywood, spokeswoman for the Hopi Tribal Council, said the heart
of the issue from the Hopi perspective is this: It's Hopi land, and the
Hopi want it back. The Hopi don't object to the Sun Dance as long as it
isn't held on their land.

Because of the recurring difficulty each summer, a decision made to
dismantle the site. The Hopi had no difficulty and felt no foreboding
tearing down the Sun Dance structures, she said.

"We don't view that as a sacred site ­ it's just a site where sacred
ceremonies take place," said Heywood, a white South African.

"Are the Hopis insane?" asks Boulder attorney Lee Hill, a Choctaw and a
member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). "To the degree that the
U.S. government is encouraging this, it is an act of cultural genocide."

Careful to distinguish the Hopi Tribal Council from the Hopi people,
many of whom reject the U.S.-created council, Hill said the tribal
council is exhibiting attitudes toward land that were introduced by
Europeans.

"I would be terrified to do something like that," Hill said. "I don't
think actions like that happen without severe consequences."

Politics and prayer

Heywood, who admits she has never been to the Ana Mae Sun Dance, was
skeptical about the nature of the ceremonies held at Camp Ana Mae. The
ceremonies, she said, were more political rallies than spiritual
gatherings. The Hopi also object to the fact that so many outsiders,
specifically white activists, attended ceremonies there.

"We resent all those strange people coming out," Heywood said.

Chasing Horse called Heywood's allegations "absurd."

"Perhaps she needs a class in cultural sensitivity," Chasing Horse said.
The Sun Dance predates U.S. law and should be respected, he said.

Boulder residents Paul Soderman and Cathie Quigley have attended the Sun
Dance at Camp Ana Mae for the past 10 years. The couple run The World
Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to building
cross-cultural unity for all people, and have close ties to both Lakota
and Diné people.

Invited by a Sun Dancer, the two have acted in a support capacity,
tending the fire, helping with sweats, and transporting supplies. For
them, the Sun Dance is a way to pray.

"In our view, the focus of this ceremony has been purely spiritual
despite the land dispute. We have no opinion on the land dispute,"
Soderman says. "To us, that's an outside issue."

Having attended other ceremonies elsewhere that included strong
political messages, Soderman and Quigley say they feel comfortable at
Camp Ana Mae because there is no political agenda.

According to Soderman, when Chasing Horse spoke to the dancers prior to
this year's Sun Dance he simply said, "Let's go pray."

"It impressed me," Soderman said.

The destruction of the Sun Dance grounds came as a shock to Soderman and
Quigley, who got the news from Chasing Horse himself.

"If you're involved in that prayer, you're connected to these things in
every way ­ spiritually, emotionally, physically," Soderman says.
"Everything there is a living prayer, so how it felt to us is a
violation of our being."

Quigley said she felt a terrible sadness when she heard what had
happened. However, she draws comfort from the thought that people's
prayers are safe.

"There's nothing they can do," Quigley says. "In my opinion, bulldozers
and chain saws can never stop a prayer. The prayer continues."

Louise Benally agrees.

"The people's prayers are still in place," Benally said. "We will have
our ceremonies. Our ceremonies will go on regardless of their
aggression. That's one thing they're afraid of ­ spiritual unity,
spiritual solidarity."

Benally's son, Eric Crittendon, was one of the two arrested during the
raid. Crittendon tried to take pictures and refused to leave the area..
He is facing trespassing charges.

"I'm proud of him," says Benally, one of the five women arrested in
July. "He just turned 18, but Eric has grown up here, so he's very aware
of a lot of stuff. With Grandma going to jail in the '70s and '80s and
Mom, too, he's aware of how people are treated out here."

That treatment includes harassment and cultural insensitivity,
relocation resisters say. When the five women were arrested, two elders
­ Pauline Whitesinger and Ruth Benally ­ were forced to wear pants in
jail, something foreign to traditional Diné women, who wear skirts. It
was interpreted as a sign of disrespect.

"I was a woman, but now I'm a man," Whitesinger reportedly said after
being forcefully stripped of her skirt and made to don pants.
Whitesinger had never worn pants in her 80-plus years and was so
uncomfortable she tore a sheet off her jail cot and wrapped it around
her waist like a skirt.


Fear and the future

On Aug. 25, many traditional Diné attended a meeting at Camp Ana Mae
despite Hopi threats of arrest to voice their concerns to Navajo Nation
President Kelsey Begaye. Sitting in the heat for several hours, Begaye
listened while Diné elders expressed their grief, anger, and fear, some
elders breaking into tears.

"The destruction of this Sun Dance ground should be a sign to the Navajo
Nation that someone is going to get hurt," said Joyce Wagner.

Begaye has already issued a statement lambasting the  Hopi government
and asking for an apology.

"The Hopi government's decision to bulldoze the Sun Dance ceremony site
at Big Mountain is deplorable," Begaye stated. "In the strongest terms,
I object to such a violent action against the Navajo families who reside
on Big Mountain and who participate, as part of their spiritual beliefs
, in the Sun Dance ceremony ... Like all peoples, the Navajo families on
Big Mountain should have the freedom to practice their non-violent
beliefs without governmental interference."

Members of the Navajo Nation Council are considering issuing a
resolution condemning the action, although no specific plans are yet in
place.

As the dust settles at Camp Ana Mae, Diné residents of HPL say they are
now living in fear.

"It always hangs in the back of my mind what they'll do," Benally says.

Hopi officials say they continue to ask the Justice Department to
forcefully evict the 10 families that have refused to sign leases.
Kuwaninvaya publicly stated the Hopi government's intent to step up
those efforts.

On one thing the Hopi government and Diné agree: The United States is to
blame for their current predicament. The Hopi say the U.S. government
started it by allowing the Diné to settle on land intended for the
exclusive use of the Hopi. The Diné fault the federal government for
funding and supporting the actions of the Hopi Tribal Council.

"Because we don't ask permission to pray, they call us lawless," Benally
said. "They're the ones who are lawless because they don't follow the
Constitution of this country."

An official from the BIA said BIA agents did nothing illegal or
unconstitutional when they offered support to the Hopi in dismantling
the Sun Dance site.

"I would refer you to the Ling decision," said Tom Davis, western
regional range management specialist for the BIA.

That decision, handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, stated that one
group of people cannot hold another group hostage because of religion,
Davis said.

"Your religious interests are well and good, but you can't use them to
control what someone else does on private land," he said.

The BIA was on hand simply to protect both the Diné and the Hopi from
one another during the demolition, Davis said. He has no worries that
the agents' presence will be found to violate either the Constitution or
federal law.

Meanwhile, chiefs and spiritual leaders from several Indian nations are
gathering and heading as a group toward Big Mountain to pray and to
stand up for the Sun Dance. Among them is Arvol Looking Horse, chief of
the Lakota and 19th-generation keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf
Pipe Bundle.

"My prayer is for this issue to be resolved in a most Peaceful way,"
Looking Horse said in a written statement. He accused the Hopi who
destroyed the Sun Dance site of having a "disease of the mind."

Chasing Horse, who will be joining them, said the words of Black Elk
have been in this thoughts since he got word of the destruction. When
chain saws cut down the arbor and the Sacred Tree, Black Elks' prophesy
about the broken hoop and dead Tree of Life was fulfilled, he says. The
repercussions affect everyone, not just Native people, he said.

"If there's going to be any hope in this world, we must mend that hoop
and make that tree live again."


Hazel James
NASA/JPL Navajo Field Coordinator
The World Hope Foundation
1202 Harmony Way
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
520-779-9322
email: Hazel.James@nau.edu or Hazbah@yahoo.com
Educational Website: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ice_fire/

Link to: GRASS ROOTS OGLALA LAKOTA OYATE Official Proclamation

Link to: The Hopi Prophecy

Link to: Wounded Knee Remembered

Link to; The BIA Apologizes{?}

Link to; The story of the takeover of the Pine Ridge Council Building

Link to; The View From The Hogan #10

Link to; The View From The Hogan #11

Link to; The View From The Hogan #12

Link to; The View From The Hogan #13

Link to; The Last Wild Man In North America

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