MY Sovereignty is not YOUR American Dream

If you don’t know what “Idle No More” is, stay tuned. This movement has awakened the most oppressed people in the history of the world. As survivors of the longest and most participated in act of genocide the world has ever known, know that many of us have and many more now intend to defend Native sovereignty and, in doing so, the planet. 

I often hear people say that standing on your birthright is too idealistic, to claim sovereignty sounds good but you can't defend yourselves with sovereignty; it won't hold up in court. I don't even know how to respond to this fully but let me start by saying this:

Sovereignty, our birthright, is not our defense; it is WHAT we defend! I don't fight for money or cigarettes or casinos. I fight for our right to live our lives and provide for our families and communities. I defend the right to speak and teach the truth. I defend our right to trade and work independent of state and federal regulations. I don't want to look for a loophole in state or federal regulations that a profitable Native business can slip through. I don't want to "smuggle" my belongings from territory to territory to trade with my relatives and the people I share 10,000 years of history with just because the recent occupiers of our lands protest it. I can also no longer allow a land we were once willing to share, be destroyed by those who never understood the concept.

My birthright was not stripped by the children who escaped the oppression of their parents. Time did not erase my sovereignty. I was not conquered nor was I bought and paid for. I did not pledge allegiance to your flag or to the republic for which it stood. Your courts did not and cannot make me theirs. Your legislatures cannot declare me one of them. No chief, no council, no president, no king, no state, no province and no nation can simply claim my birthright. My sovereignty comes from Creation. It doesn't come from a treaty, a handshake, a church, a crown or even a wampum belt. No army defends my right to speak or provides for my freedom. My freedom only ends when I stop defending it. And just because my defense may not appear to have held once, doesn't mean I won't defend it again and again. My freedom surely does not give me the right to infringe upon the freedoms of others but likewise nor can a foreign authority assume the just power to regulate the metes and bounds of my freedom. My freedom, my birthright and my sovereignty may be infringed upon but it is not lost until I say so. No "deal" from the past and none in the present or future can sell out the freedoms of others.

Nowhere in, what some call, “our original instructions" do the words "American Dream" appear. This is neither a part of our history nor our future. The pursuit of this fallacy is destructive. It includes greed, fraud, racism, exploitation, treason and the loss of everything that creation provides to us all at birth. It equates wealth with success. Wealth is determined by how many more THINGS can be accumulated or consumed by one man compared to his neighbor. Quality of life is replaced by quantity of things. The almost complete disregard for the toll of consumption on the planet, our neighbors, our friends and our families shows on the climate, in the suicides, the cases of depression and on the consumption of drugs and alcohol. The next shiny object is the pursuit; the gold, the diamonds, the boob jobs and blow jobs. Isn't that right, Columbus? Ain't that the truth Governor Spitzer? President Clinton? The American Dream is not in our vessel; it was placed in yours. It is not on our path; it is what leads us off it.

So the let the 44th Rahnatakaias (the Mohawk word for the US President, which means Town Destroyer) in Washington, and all those that will come after him, keep their "equal opportunity to pursue the American Dream" for the American dreamers. As Native people, we need to look to each other, not to defend our collective sovereignty but to defend our sovereignty collectively. No lawyer in any court; ours, theirs or the world’s, can do it. A birthright cannot be won in court. It was already awarded at birth; by Creation.

There have always been those of us carrying this message. Generation after generation has had true Warriors. The difference today, coming out of this “Native Winter” and into Our Spring is that it is not just those of us that have been holding the line and under the microscope stirring this time. A whole lot more are now “Idle No More”!

The Governor's "New" Good Ideas

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo recently gave his State of the State Budget address. In it he proposed a couple of brand new ideas to stimulate the economy and raise revenue for the State of New York.

The first of his innovative ideas is to create retail establishments in areas that are in dire need of help to bolster their economies. The shops would be allowed to sell merchandise without the oppressive State taxes normally associated with certain products. These shops would only be in certain designated locations and would allow consumers to avoid these oppressive taxes that would still exist everywhere else. The consumers who avoid State tax by patronizing these shops would incur no liability for tax evasion. In fact their purchases are intended to stimulate the local economy, help the NY producers of these products and help keep dollars circulating within those communities and the State for a longer duration. This is being touted as a tourism  program with the hope of attracting out of state consumers to make the trip to these shops and purchase these tax free products thereby giving travelers from other tax jurisdictions the opportunity to avoid their own regions oppressive taxes to New York State's benefit.

Now you might be asking what products is Mr. Cuomo speaking of here. It can't be the state's agricultural products; there is no tax on produce. The answer is simple and obvious: Wine! The key is finding a product that is heavily regulated, over taxed, some what addictive and can be identified with a specific region. Then you strip away the regulations and the tax but only in "special" locations and Bingo! you have a new twist on an old industry. The wine producers of New York will now have streamlined flow to retail. A new breed of retail establishments can emerge to provide jobs, good investments, tourism and most importantly create a flow of revenue that does not leave an area as fast as it comes.

I don't know. Sounds kind of fishy to me; almost "black market". Tax free booze, cheap and more financially accessible? I thought alcohol was a vice. Should New York State be encouraging the growth in the consumption of alcohol? Could this encourage an illicit wine trade? What about all those fine tax paying retailers who won't be able to compete with the new State duty-free wine shops. What about all the lost revenue? Can New York State afford to lose tax revenue? This sounds awfully familiar.....

Oh yeah! Those goddamn Indians. Does this mean that the Governor finally realizes that this very same idea that has been developing for over 30 years in the Native tobacco trade is not a bad thing? Does this mean Mr. Cuomo has looked at real data and realized that the State has actually benefited from Native tax-free sales? Could it be that the manufacturing on Native lands, the wholesaling, distribution and retail now makes sense to those in Albany? Does this mean the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance can finally stop seizing Native brands transported by Native wholesalers from one Native territory to another Native territory? That Native to Native commerce can finally exist without the threat of having loads hijacked by the State? Does this mean the NYS Attorney General will drop his suits against Native manufacturers and withdraw the cease and desist letters to others attempting to block the products entry to the State even though it is just passing through en route to Native lands? Will the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms finally stop characterizing Native tobacco products as contraband simply because they bear no tax stamp from the State and finally cease their raids?

Don't kid yourself! In spite of the hypocrisy, the evidence and the obvious economic benefits to the State, Cuomo is still hellbent on killing Native smoke shops. Is it an Italian thing or does "Duty-Free Wine Shop" just sound better?

What was that second great idea the Governor had again? Oh Yeah! Casinos! How does he keep coming up with this stuff? It's great to be Chief!    

New York Continues Aggression Against Natives and Native Commerce Even as the "Idle No More" Tsunami Bears Down

Cuomo, The Younger shows no signs of backing away from an aggressive policy of direct interference with Native to Native commerce even as the "Idle No More" movement continues to gain momentum. Seizures of trade goods, cease and desist letters and lawsuits against Native manufacturers shipping to other Native territories continue as the numbers associated with projected tax revenue fail to materialize. And now, at a time where thousands of Native people and their allies are plugging up malls, highways and rail systems just to demonstrate a refusal to lay down, this man with unbridled ambition just seems to be asking for trouble.
The "Idle No More" movement which began North of the imaginary line across Turtle Island may have started over bad Canadian legislation but it is not limited to it. The movement is about protection of what is ours and what is our responsibility. That includes our land, our water and the air that we breath. It also includes our livelihoods and the lives of the generations to come. And make no mistake about it, the movement is here and it is growing. Even without provocation from the state or feds, measurements on what to do and how long to do it are being made on or about every native community everyday and this, in the dead of Winter. Between holidays, snow and freezing temps, this is the time that NYS governors expect the least from us. Not this year. 2012 was just roaring as it went out and 2013 promises to be a year like no other. 
Unprecedented aggression from federal agents that culminated in three armed invasions of three separate Haudenosaunee territories this past year and a state hell bent on destroying the private sector economies of our lands already have people ready to close the Thruway and block the border crossings but now there is not just massive support from all Native lands and Native people on Turtle Island but international support as well. No one saw this coming and now you would think no one could ignore it. But the young Mr. Cuomo appears to be doing just that. This guy with his 70% approval ratings has nowhere to go but down and yet he seems to promote an heir of invincibility as he ponders presidential aspirations. "Idle No More" may not have begun here but the seeds of Native resistance have been sown plenty around here and their roots run deep. This is not a question of kicking a sleeping dog. We are not sleeping. We have just been lying here waiting for the alarm to ring.    
Do you remember the story of the other Cuomo that went on to be President? Of course you don't. Because it didn't happen and an "Arab Spring" here may seal the deal for this one too. Just because there always seems to be bigger and better issues than the "Indian problem" to deal with, doesn't mean we go away and there are neither votes nor money to be made fighting a modern Indian War. Walk gently, grasshopper.

Move Over "Occupiers"! We Are "Idle No More"

We have gone from more than the 99% to the 1%. No, we have not become is the privileged 1% that the OWS crowd railed against. We are the survivors of the largest and longest continuous act of genocide the world has ever known.

Perhaps December 21,2012 is the end of the world after all, at least the end to a world of occupiers trampling those people closest to the very Earth we cherish as our own mother. We are "Idle No More". We don't need your Zucatti Park or Berkley  or D.C. or Ottawa. We'll fight you from home. Who would have thought that a handful of dedicated Native women would decide when enough was enough?

Thank you, Canada for getting so lost in your arrogance that you have finally awakened those of us charged with protecting our mother from you and your kind. Pass your Bill C-45 and all your acts of pretend legislation and watch us shut down your highways and your rail and your inland navigation. We have endured your broken promises, your residential schools, your racist policies, your "Indian Act" and, of course, your apologies; but we are "Idle No More".

Watch as your American Idol to the South ratchets up its attention to the Warrior Flags. Watch as they cling to their 9-11 rhetoric, their PATRIOT Act and their hope that their border will protect them from a movement they hope they can blame on you. Oh how they long for that "pack of whining curs who lick the hand that smites them". We are "Idle No More".

The season that has seen the largest mass execution in the history of the US at Mankato, the murder of Sitting Bull and the massacre at Wounded Knee finds us "Idle No More". Follow this movement at  http://idlenomore.com/ or at http://idlenomore1.blogspot.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/IdleNoMoreCommunity?fref=ts.

You won't find the mainstream media covering this so look for it. Look here. "Let's Talk Native..." will follow the growth of this and will help give it voice. We look to those who praise the UN and its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to step up. Don't allow the US and Canada to "support" its aspirations provided it does not conflict with their laws. Stand with us as we clearly show that their laws DO conflict with what the World has called the "minimum standard" for treatment of an abused people. Our people are committed to peace but we are not pacifists. We are "Idle No More".
 

"Let's Talk Native..." Needs Support

‎"Let's Talk Native..." has been on the air for almost 2 1/2 years yet it is still not sustainable. With only a handful of dedicated supporters and a smaller group yet that has done the heaviest lifting when it comes to footing the bill to stay on air, I question both the effectiveness of the show and whether a strong enough need or even a desire for what I am attempting to provide exists. 
I have no real product to sell and the service may not be perceived as a daily essential. While I do believe that there has been real and tangible benefit to people today for the work I do on LTN and elsewhere, advocacy is really about trying to prevent the next crisis and less about repairing the ones of the past. 
I don't know if advertisers or sponsors on my show get a good return on their investment, in terms of marketing dollars, but what I do know is that those businesses tell my listeners that they care about getting our issues out there. They tell the public that they are committed to advancing the Native conversation and refuse to allow us to be marginalized.
"Let's Talk Native..." is not a weapon. It's purpose is not to create enemies with harsh words and war cries but a tool to win people over with education and insight. There certainly are those who would like to see the show gone but they will not determine the success or failure of the program. Nor will the current supporters. They may keep the show afloat but the success of the show will be determined by new support and those who want the show on the air, those who are glad someone is doing what I am doing but have still not stepped up to support it. 
"Let's Talk Native..." needs more support to continue. The show is paid programming on commercial radio in a significant urban market. The 50,000 watt signal of WWKB 1520AM may be sketchy for some listeners in Seneca territory but it blasts strong enough fanning out to the East that it is heard from Montreal to Washington D.C. (on good nights). The show streams live on-line and on the Tunein app for smartphones. Past shows are listened to after airing thousands of times on my blog, including by all the major agencies in Albany and Washington. 
Bill and Melinda Gates or the Carnegie Foundation won't give us a voice and all the proclamations, resolutions and declarations from the White House, the US Capital or the United Nations won't assist us in educating ourselves and those around us. It is on us. 
Comment your thoughts here, message me on Facebook for suggestions or contact me at jmkane1220@aol.com.

November was what? Our month? Really? Who knew?

I was asked to speak on the importance of National Native American Heritage Month. Uh...? We had a month? Did I miss the "Dances with Wolves" marathon or "Pocahontas" running continuously on one of the half dozen Disney channels? Nope, never happened. No one bothered. No one really took notice.

On November 1st, President Obama even made a public "Proclamation". Look! it's on the White House website and everything. So how did we miss it? The fact is that every November since 1994 has been proclaimed by US Presidents as such. 
But like with most things Native, we continue to be invisible. Of course, we only seem to be invisible when there is something positive to say. Blaming Senecas for the City of Niagara Falls' financial woes is always news worthy. I even had someone from one of the mainstream media outlets suggest that it was too bad we didn't put out local press releases on the subject. I responded by saying I thought the President of the United States issuing a statement would have been enough.

Now I don't want to suggest that everyone was oblivious to "our" month. Certainly, some took the opportunity to bring speakers to a variety of events and I believe those that had an opportunity to learn some of our history are better for it. But getting back to the original request...

It is hard to make much of a case for the importance of such a thing if barely anyone even knew. But like many of the things I write and speak about, this too can create opportunities. We need to be honest about our histories; shared and distinct. We also need both Native and non-native people understand how we got to today; for better and for worse. There needs to be an acknowledgement that our people are not just suffering from "historical trauma" but from policies that continue today.

Assimilation is not a period of American history. It is a policy that begins with Christian missionaries and continues with ATF and BIA agents today. The President's proclamation even included a National commitment to ensure "equal opportunity to pursue the American dream". This too is assimilation. Our lives were pretty good before the American Holocaust, before 6 centuries of genocide ranging from the slavery to gold of Christopher Columbus to the small pox blankets of Lord Geoffrey Amherst and George Washington's security in the "terror with which the chastisement they (Senecas) receive will inspire them". Does it come across as ungrateful to not want to embrace this fairy tale that is the "American Dream"? If so, too bad. Keep it. Keep it with your George Washington and his cherry tree, the Christian Discovery Doctrine, Manifest Destiny and White Man's Burden. All lies! Let's tell the truth.

November should be an opportunity to shine a little more light on who were are. I know most would rather talk about who we were, but we are still here. And no matter how much time goes by, how many overtures, apologies and proclamations are made, there is still no basis in any one's law to suggest that we no longer have claim to our lands, our distinction and our autonomy.

The truth is that we gave the world more than a "dream". We showed a world without dictators or monarchs, a world without standing armies and prisons and a world where liberty was a reality not just a concept. What became of that "dream", our reality, has been a systematic dismantling of a way of life that 18th century philosophers only "dreamed" about.

Perhaps next year when President Obama issues his proclamation, he'll offer more than the opportunity to dream about being rich Americans and he will begin to understand that our dreams are not "American". And perhaps the media, academia and civic leaders will notice. 

I Don't Vote! The Two Row Is Only One Reason

The basic question for a Native person is: "How does anyone who claims to be Sovereign; a person distinct from the American culture, a Native person tied to the land and ways of their ancestors, immune from US laws and jurisdiction, a survivor of the greatest genocide the world has ever know; vote in the elections of the government responsible for that genocide?" The Native person that votes or worse yet advocates other Native people to vote in non-native elections is not a survivor of that genocide. They are fallen victims. 

Genocide is a physical crime and a psychological one as well. The era of small pox blankets, mass executions, starvation, sterilization, murder, rape and concentration camps are by and large a thing of the past. But since the time leading up to the residential schools, the good Christian societies of the US and Canada adopted the "Kill the Indian; save the man" strategy. This turned assimilation into a whole new game. It worked hand and hand with major land reduction and major "depopulation" programs (some directly incorporated in the residential schools) but concentrated on indoctrination more so than extermination. Native languages were wiped out, often times, in one generation. Traditional names were erased from the lips and ears of children as were the stories, ceremonies, teachings and any sense of identity. Histories were rewritten and inferiority of our entire race was reinforced with alcohol and isolation. In 1924 when the US Senate "declared" all Indians born in the US to be US citizens, some viewed this as a step up from centuries of criminal mistreatment. But most at the time were as apathetic to this Citizenship Act as they were to all the other bullshit laws the state and federal governments passed. Besides, how could one nation legislate away the nationality of hundreds of distinct peoples anyway? Is that even legal? Where could such a thing be legal?

We have a wampum belt that has been used over and over again to symbolize a very simple concept. The Two Row Wampum, known as the Kaswentha or Tekeni Tiohate, is as simple in its meaning as it is in its design. Two rows of purple wampum each two beads wide separated and bordered by rows of white wampum, three beads wide; creating the image of two purple paths on a white background. One of those paths is ours, the Haudenosaunee. The other is for each those with whom we entered into a covenant of mutual respect. That first vow was with Creation. We acknowledged that all of creation had a path and that our path must respect the paths that Creation provided. We extended that "treaty" to other Ohnkwe Ohnwe, understanding that some of these relatives had paths distinct from ours and that overcoming man's tendency to war and violence required a symbol of mutual respect. When it came to the white man, this concept needed a new metaphor. Acknowledging paths across our "mother" couldn't work for a landless people. So when the Kaswentha was offered to them, the two rows were described as two vessels upon the river of life; the ship and the canoe. This new party and their relatives that followed had no common history and little common philosophy of all of the Creation as we knew it. So, much was spelled out about how neither vessel would attempt to steer or dominate the other. The voyage of each would be respected and unencumbered by the other. Neither people would attempt to ride with a foot in each vessel although each would offer friendship and assistance as the waters got rough. Simple and beautiful when bound by trust and respect. Simple and naive when offered to deceivers. 

This concept absolutely cannot justify the Act of 1924 (or any of their acts of pretend legislation) or our people voting in non-native elections. The myth that our vote matters cannot justify taking a willing step toward assimilation either. Let me address this bullshit.

Not only has the Native population been diminished to a point of insignificance as a percent of the American population but our people have been sliced and diced, force marched from homeland to the lands of others, separated by imaginary borders (including national, state, county, town, state districts, congressional districts and who knows what else). The Seneca Nation alone has their adult population of a few thousand separated by three counties and at least that many congressional districts and state districts (if those could even apply on Seneca land). So when you cut, what some might believe could be, one voice up three or more ways it gets pretty insignificant. This, of course, does not even address the fact that not all of us would vote if it were appropriate or vote for the same party or candidate anyway. so where is this "power of the vote"? Voting in a system that arguably is not ours, forces us to accept the results and the ownership of these public servants. Of course, you gotta ask, who owns who? at that point.

Where our power is, is in our sovereignty. The very thing we jeopardize by lining up with them in their vessel. Our strength is in our autonomy; our distinction. And that distinction could not be made more clear than by erasing those lines that separate us, making clear that our lands are NOT in their districts, their towns, their counties, their states or their nation. Oh yeah, and by not voting.

The Effort Continues to Bring the Floor Tax Issue to the White House

Despite having my legs cut out in the effort I initiated with Congressman Brian Higgins and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to secure a meeting with a White House advisor by "indirect pressure" from the Seneca Nation, I continue to pursue a meeting with the Senior Policy Advisor on Native American Affairs to the White House. A familiar Native face in Washington, Jodi Gillette has now replaced Kim Teehee, the first to hold such a post.

Things were going well with the legislators until they backed out of working to correct a problem they created by passing the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act. CHIPRA is a law designed to provide health insurance to kids. It was passed back in 2009 and went into effect on April 1 of that year and is funded by a $6.16 increase to the Federal Excise Tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Stuck on the tail end of the law is the Floor Tax. This provision was intended to keep manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, under the jurisdiction of US commerce laws from stockpiling product in advance of the tax increase for sale after, thereby pulling a one-time tax avoidance maneuver.

Since there has never been a circumstance where the federal government (or the state for that matter) has ever attempted to collect a tax on property, legally purchased, in Native possession and on Native lands, "after-the-fact", we all assumed this provision could not possibly apply to us. Not to mention that most of the businesses involved in the tobacco trade on Native lands at the time were remote retailers or "mail orders" which, by design, didn't even stock an inventory. They simply order from a wholesaler what a customer ordered from them, essentially only ordering what was already sold.

But low and behold, almost three years later, a new tax collecting agency called the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB) went on a tear. Letters started to pour in around Christmas of 2011 and continued into 2012 assessing Native retailers and wholesalers millions of dollars  of "floor tax" for product the TTB BELIEVED was "held" when the clock struck midnight on April Fools Day of 2009. Ironically, many of these assessments were on mail order businesses that had already been killed by the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) by this time, leaving individuals no longer even in business with this alleged "liability".

The offices of both Higgins and Gillibrand confessed that no consideration was given to the applicability of this law on Native people or Native lands and conceded that the actions of TTB were an "unintended consequence" of the law. A mistake!

The question for the White House is the same put to these two legislators: Did you intend for this precedent to be set and a "new" tax imposed on our sovereign land? We think not and believe Mr. Obama could and should make this go away.

All I asked of Mr Higgins and Ms. Gillibrand was to help with a meeting; to facilitate. By all means write a letter but let's take it up the line to someone who can encourage a tax collection agency to halt their overzealousness and use the broad discretion, that they all have, for pursuing legislative intent instead of interpreting the law in the broadest context possible. But conflicting sentiment within the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI), which pits the now outgoing president and his loathing of private sector businesses against the brightest spot in the region for economic success (in spite state and federal regs to derail them), caused unnamed underlings, with questionable authority to carry the message to stop all efforts that John Kane had begun.

Before Rob Porter ever became president of the SNI, as a policy advisor, he sent an email out to all SNI officials about an effort to stop the PACT Act. The effort was organized by Seneca businesspersons to protect the mail order tobacco businesses that this act was intended to kill. An attorney from a prestigious law firm put the plan together and asked me if I would be willing to help. In Porter's email he describe the attorney involved as a "white attorney", compared him to a snake oil salesman and mentioned that the plan was to involve "John Kane, a Mohawk and former Ross john employee".

I asked both Ross John and the attorney involved what they thought was worse to Rob, being a white attorney, a snake oil salesman, a Mohawk or a Ross John employee. Neither was too sure. Well, Rob, which is it?

As Rob fades into obscurity, be assured that white lawyers, Ross John and John Kane (a Mohawk) will remain relevant. And with every success we have in pushing back on the state and the federal government, I'll offer a round of Snake Oil.

In the meantime, it's on you, Ms. Gillette. Let's discuss this, not like men but like Ohnkwe Ohnwe, real human beings (real to our past and real to our future). Help your boss, the President, do the right thing. After all this is your job; advise on Native affairs. 

Federal Agents Raid a Seneca Business

Wednesday, shortly before 11am, 20-30 federal agents moved on to the Seneca territory of Cataraugus to arrest Will Parry and to search his home and business. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives came in en masse after a long undercover investigation that spanned from Kansas City, Missouri to the Native lands of the Seneca. Whether it is a coincidence that Parry was singled out in what many would perceive as a pretty brazen assault on a strong community of Senecas remains to be seen. Parry has had an on-going dispute with the Seneca Nation of Indians (SNI) business regulators and challenges the authority of their Import-Export Commission to tax and regulate Seneca businesses. With or without SNI approval or involvement the ATFE asserted federal authority/aggression over a Seneca man on Seneca soil. Will Parry is accused of violating a federal wire fraud and telecommunications statute in the purchase of cigarettes; not drug, guns or bombs: cigarettes. 

This raid constitutes the second armed act of aggression this year by federal authorities within sovereign Native lands of the Western Door of the Haudenosaunee. Early this year almost 100 federal agents raided several businesses on the territory of the Tonawanda Senecas. Most in this area can not remember a time when the federal government has taken such aggressive actions against Native people. Add to this heavy handed attempts by the IRS and the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) agents to impose and collect income and "floor" taxes against individuals and tribal governments and the atmosphere is clearly unprecedented. 

A US President who spends millions on photo ops with "real Indians" and even has a Crow Indian name has signed several bills into law that killed thousands of jobs and businesses on Native lands and has TTB agents adding insult to that injury by attempting to impose millions of dollars in "floor tax" on those very businesses and others. There are some "BIA Indians" out west that will swear that Mr. Obama is the best president "Indians" have ever seen (of course that includes the Crow). In the lands of the Haudenosaunee the president is called Ranahtakaias. This name started with Washington and has been used for the 43 since. The "Town Destroyer" that now sits in the White House will almost certainly serve a second term before the 45th Rahnatakaias is served up and as such the question is: will he continue to violate the sovereignty of Native people?

This year also saw this Rahnatakaias tepidly endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It wasn't a full endorsement but rather an endorsement for the "aspirations" of the Declaration (provided, of course, it doesn't conflict with US laws or undermine the current remedy for Native conflicts; US courts). So tepid or not, what does a Declaration signed by every nation of the UN mean? And  how can it be reconciled with the actions of this administration in DC? The question is not for the US courts but for the World. 

Many would offer a complete disconnect between this Rahnatakaias and the US Attorneys and federal agencies directly involved in the aggression. But that simply can't fly around here. This guy even has a Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House. In fact, he is on his second one; Jodi Gillette was appointed this year after Kimberly Teehee left the post. Surely White House Indians gotta help close that gap.

All said and done, Will Parry sits in chains today not sure what the future holds. These things never go well in court (that's their plan). Can it be pulled out? Perhaps. The two raids this year cannot be erased but the next one does not have to happen and the current charges don't need to be pursued. 

What is to make this stop? Time to get Jodi to put a bug in the ear of the 44th Rahnatakaias. 

Who Gives the UNDRIP Force? We Do, That's Who!

The United Nations has designated every August 9th to be the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. I usually don't pay much attention to these things because as it turns out, that while plenty of Native people from North America make the trek to the UN and quite frequently, there is little or nothing the UN has for programs to support the Native people in the US or Canada. Why? The US and Canada won't allow it!

But this August 9th I happened to be in New York to guest host for Tiokasin Ghosthorse on his program, "First Voices Indigenous Radio" and as more luck would have it; the theme for our "special day" was "Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices". Now I was not invited to this event, mind you, even though I regularly host the only weekly Native talk radio show in the state other than the one I happened to be guest hosting. But having sat in for Tiokasin on that Thursday morning, doing a pretty good show I might add, I was packing up for my trip back home when I received an email about the event. I was literally staying walking distance from the UN and had no reason to rush home so I made a call to make sure they'd let me in and off to the UN I went.

I was a little surprised that the event was generating a decent crowd but then I realized that Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, himself was giving an address to start us off. His words were strong and supportive as were remarks from the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (the entire event was webcast by the UN and can be viewed at http://bcove.me/pqzmwpkm). As all the "Indigenous" events at the UN are, this one too was dominated by Native people from here and, yes of course, I managed to get to a microphone as well. As I often do, I raised the question about where the rubber meets the road on the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); where does it get teeth to match its strong words and detailed restrictions.

I don't go to the UN often but when I do, I usually leave with a hollow feeling. I never get the sense that the international community is ever really going to address the American genocide that still continues today. But a funny thing happened this trip. after hearing some comments from one of the panelists, Professor J. Kehaulani Kauanui from Hawaii via Wesleyan University, and engaging her a bit in my comments, I had a change of heart. Professor Kauanui mentioned two things about the UNDRIP. First she acknowledged the absence of the force of law regarding the Declaration. She mentioned other proclamations, resolutions and announcements, including the US apology for the crimes committed against the people of Hawaii, and how courts have deemed them inadmissible or of no legal consequence, just words. But she expressed the significance of them anyway. And it hit me that it is not the US or Canadian courts that need to give these ratified documents force. It is us that need to. The only true court of the people is the court of public opinion and it is in this court that we must prosecute those that violate the rule of law, Natural Law. That is really all this document acknowledges; the simple laws of nature and birthright. We need to cite every article and section that is violated every time they are violated. No matter what nation it is or what state or province it is that violates it.

The other suggestion Ms. Kauanui made was to bring the education of the UNDRIP local. Get the all those universities, most of which sit on negotiated parcels of our lands, to host events where Native and non-native people can learn how the world views our issues, including state, provincial and federal officials. This is how WE give the Declaration force. US and Canadian courts are not the places for our issues to be "remedied". We don't need their law makers to add to the long list of ambiguous, or otherwise meaningless, "Federal Indian Laws". To the contrary; their courts need to stop trying adjudicate our sovereignty away and their legislatures need to stop trying legislate sovereignty out and "our special status" in.

It is simple, just follow what every UN nation has agreed to; the UNDRIP! They all signed it. We now need to hold them to it. We need to give it force. And let those nations who are concerned that the UNDRIP may conflict with their constitutions, laws, or worse yet, their religions, have that conflict exposed. Let us show the  rest of the world the world we live in and let us show the clear genocide that continues still today in spite of this Declaration.

Is it True that Casino Gambling is tied to Organized Crime?: Has the Lure of Easy Money Turned NYS to Extortion?

Allow me to once again state the obvious. The State has no right to revenue from Native gaming operations. According to federal law, they may negotiate repayment for their costs associated with the regulation of Class  3 gaming but they are not entitled to a "cut". The State may, however, offer something of value to a Native gaming operation for some consideration and this is the crux of the current conflict between the Senecas and the State.
The Seneca people always felt that their gaming enterprises should be a part of a regional development and that a certain benefit should be realized by the entire Western New York region. As such, the plan to develop some level of revenue sharing was never a problem for the Senecas. The question was what was the "thing of value" that could be offered up for a share of gaming revenue? Well it wasn't exactly the only question as it turns out. The powers that be in Albany wanted to be out in front of this conversation and basically took the position with the Senecas that Albany would take care of Western New York and that any "deal" would be with them.
The standard offering in other states has always been gaming exclusivity for a percent of the slot drop. There is clearly a benefit for a gaming enterprise if there can be an assurance that there would be no competition within their market area. For the most part this is really all the states can offer, outside of direct financial support. And so this is what New York served up; a competition free zone that would include all of Western New York in exchange for 25% of the slot revenue. Out of this cut that the State would receive 75% would stay in State coffers for Albany to squander with a quarter going to the three cities where the Senecas reclaimed land for gaming and none to the region as a whole.
And for this generous offering from the Senecas the State was to ensure gaming exclusivity for the region. Now this may not reek of extortion yet even if it has the hint of "protection money" because, let's be honest, it is protection money. The Senecas agreed to pay the guys with the muscle to protect their market and in more than a small way allowed the State to get into the Casino business by proxy. Where this less than holy arrangement gets even dirtier is when the State decides to violate its side of the deal and not just allow competition against the Senecas but to be the competition. And not for a minute did the State hesitate to insist that the "protection money" keep flowing.
New York State now has 9 of its own casinos, placed discretely on grounds already tainted by the sin of gaming, their failing horse racing tracks. Three of them are in the "exclusivity zone" of the Senecas. Although it is not clear how much these venues generate it is rumored that the State's casinos pull in close half a billion dollars per year. It is also unclear if the State writes a check for 25% back to those "host communities" but what is clear is that they are not writing a check to the three cities that lost out when the Senecas stopped paying the State for protection that isn't there.
In a campaign to pit Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca against the Senecas, the State plugged itself in between the relationship from the start and now leaves those communities with no benefit from gaming revenue; not from the Seneca sites nor from the racetrack sites. As effective as this campaign may have been in certain political circles, it has not forced anyone's hand. Although the effects of how much this has degraded Native/State relations has been fairly obvious, only now through several recent comments is it clear how vindictive the State and State leadership has become.
When the State only had estimates on how much money they believed they were losing to Native retailers over tax issues they could keep a steady drum beat going and keep some momentum going on pushing anti-Native policies. But having a specific and known number like half a billion dollars in an escrow account just out of reach or gaping holes in three of their municipalities' budgets where gaming dollars once were, certainly has emboldened the Governor in ratcheting up the pressure. Add to this an obvious dislike for each other and the inflated egos that both the executive of the State and of the Seneca Nation have, and the seeds are sown for even more hostility.
So this brings us to a grave admission from the Governor and at least one of his commissioners that a conscious decision has been made to connect the gaming revenue dispute to the State's refusal to fulfill its obligations to maintain the roads that cross Seneca territory. Who knew that it would be Mr. Cuomo that would show such a lack of forethought and composure? It would be different if the crumbling roads and bridges traveled by significantly more non-native than Native people were only in a general state of disrepair. But a large piece of Interstate 86 where it cuts through the Seneca territory of Allegany fell in the river last year and it was just luck that no one was killed. This road which only recently gained "Interstate" designation has the worst stretch through Seneca territory and is a tire blowing, rim bending treacherous ride even without a road collapse. The bridges over the Thruway (I-90) on the Cattaraugus Territory are equally disturbing as is the bridge entering the territory on Routes 5&20.
For the Governor to consciously place public safety at risk, not through negligence but as a strategy and to offer as a solution to shut down unsafe roads clearly crosses a line and even in the absence of exaggeration or embellishment meets the threshold for extortion. It certainly begs the question as to who has been corrupted here.

Senecas Clash With Police Over Tax Ruling (July 17, 1992)

New York Times - Published: July 17, 1992

A tax war between Seneca Indians and New York State grew more divisive today as Indians dropped burning tires off a highway overpass and clashed with state police.

Thirteen protesters were arrested and at least four state troopers were injured, including the force's commander in western New York.

About 200 Indians began burning tires and other debris about 7 P.M. Wednesday to protest taxes the state wants to impose on the sale of gasoline and cigarettes at reservations.

About midnight, protesters started throwing burning debris from an overpass onto the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, which borders the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation 30 miles southwest of Buffalo. 30-Mile Stretch Closed

State troopers in riot gear cleared protesters from the overpass and put out the fire, said Maj. George Meyer. Thirteen protesters were arrested.

Troopers closed a 30-mile stretch of the Thruway around the reservation when the confrontation began. The highway reopened at 6 A.M. today.

During the protest, Maj. Bruce Roloff, commander of Troop A in western New York, was hit in the head with a two-by-four, Major Meyer said. Major Roloff was listed in fair condition at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.

Three other troopers and three protesters were slightly injured when protesters drove cars into the crowd, the police said.

More than 200 extra troopers were sent to the reservation from around New York state today, said Sgt. Gregory Lang. Dozens of state police cars lined the Thruway near the reservation this afternoon, and troopers stopped and questioned drivers entering the reservation.

The protests were prompted by a ruling last week by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court allowing New York to tax sales of gas and cigarettes to non-Indians on reservations.

Karl Felsen, a New York tax spokesman, said the state loses about $50 million a year because of tax-free sales of gas and cigarettes by Indians. Retailers near reservations say Indian vendors have an unfair advantage.

Centuries-old treaties prohibit taxing sales to Indians. But Indians say those treaties also apply to sales by Indian vendors to non-Indians.

Calvin John, the Seneca Nation president, said he would organize a committee to decide how to fight the tax ruling.

Robert Batson, deputy director of the state Indian relations office, said officials from his office also were in touch with Seneca leaders but could do little to control the violence.

"That's like the United Nations trying to control Sarajevo," Mr. Batson said.