Kill ’em … kill ’em all

{ April 7, 2013 @ 5:16 am } · { Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Southern Cheyenne, Uncategorized }
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William T. Sherman

William T. Sherman

Most of us from the “baby boom” generation and older recognize and connect the name William T. Sherman to four years of conflict between northern and southern states of this Republic (1861-1865).

Sherman entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when he was 16 years old and graduated four years later (in 1840). While at West Point, he never rose above the rank of Private; according to Sherman’s memoirs, he received an average of 150 demerits annually.

Thanks to the influence of his foster father, Thomas Ewing (an Ohio lawyer and politician), Sherman ranked as a second lieutenant in his initial years’ service with the Army. While Ewing served as Secretary of the Department of the Interior (1849-1850), Sherman married his daughter and was duly promoted to the rank of Captain. Three years later, he resigned his captaincy and went to work for a St. Louis-based bank. Sherman was hired in 1859 as superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy (later re-named Louisiana State University).

Although he was pro-slavery, Sherman was against fracturing of the Union. When Louisiana joined the Confederacy, he resigned from the Seminary and moved to St. Louis. In May 1861, his brother, John Sherman, a U.S. Senator (Ohio), helped him acquire a commission as Colonel in the Army’s 13th U.S. Infantry. After the Union’s defeat at Bull Run two months later, President Lincoln promoted Sherman to Brigadier General.  After three months, Sherman took over command of the military’s Department of the Cumberland (Louisville, Kentucky). But promptly and at his own request, Sherman was relieved of that duty and transferred to the Department of the Missouri (St. Louis). Less than two months later, Major General Henry Halleck, Commander of the Department of the Missouri, determined Sherman to be unfit for duty and placed him on leave.

By mid-December 1861, Sherman returned to his duties under Halleck for the Department of the Missouri. Sherman was reassigned to Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant’s command (District of West Tennessee) the following March and placed as commander of the 5th Division, Army of West Tennessee. The Shiloh battle took place in April 1862 after which Sherman was promoted to Major General of Volunteers, then military governor of Union-occupied Memphis, Tennessee.

By spring of 1864, Sherman was promoted to command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, and Grant took the overall command of Union armies. Emboldened, Sherman invaded the state of Georgia with close to one hundred thousand troops. Before arriving in Atlanta, he received a commission as major-general in the regular Army. Citizens of union-occupied Atlanta were ordered out of the city while Sherman burned all the military and government buildings and much of the city’s private residences.

Following Lincoln’s election as President, Sherman took sixty-two thousand troops and began another march through Georgia to the port at Savannah. As seen in his field reports, Sherman and his men took everything they saw and wanted causing estimated property damage in excess of $100 million. The 25 December 1864 New-York Times published Sherman’s jubilant message to President Lincoln:

Savannah, Ga., Dec. 22.

To His Excellency, President Lincoln: I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton.

(Signed.) W. T. Sherman, Major-General

Sherman then proceeded north, decimating South Carolina and North Carolina along the way. On 9 April 1865, General Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Confederate Army, surrendered to General Grant, Commander of the Union Army. Then on 26 April 1865, the commander of Confederate troops in the Carolinas, General Joseph E. Johnston, surrendered to General Sherman who had just trounced those two states.

On 9 May 1865, U.S. President Andrew Johnson declared an end to the war.

Stand Watie

Stand Watie

On 23 June 1865 near Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, Union representatives met with Brigadier General Stand Watie, comander of the Confederate Indian Cavalry, Army of the Trans-Mississippi. Watie signed a cease fire agreement at that time … the last Confederate capitulation.

Throughout his career with the Army, Sherman used the term “hard-war” to describe what he perceived as the appropriate reality and justification for his actions during conflicts in which he was involved. His ideology was in view not only during the conflict between the states, but also during  efforts by the U.S. government and military to eliminate as many red-skinned people as possible, and subjugate and segregate the survivors.

Summer of 1865 found Lieutenant General Sherman in command of the Military Division of the Missouri which included territory between the Rocky Mountains and Mississippi River. His friend, Ulysses S. Grant, had been honored by Congress with the new position as General of the Army.

Shortly after the military’s November 1868 massacre of Black Kettle’s band of Cheyenne camped alongside the Washita River in western Indian Territory, President Grant honored Sherman with appointment as the new General of the Army.

Records of Sherman’s military actions from the civil war through his 1884 retirement are replete at Federal Depository Libraries, other venues of historical collections, digitized primary documents at universities and colleges, digitized newspaper editorials, and more.  During research on the 27 November 1868 Washita River massacre,  I discovered the following portions of a report written by Lt. General Sherman three weeks later :

“… I am well satisfied with Custer’s attack, and would not have wept if he could have served Satanta’s and Bull Bear’s bands in the same style. I want you all to go ahead, kill and punish the hostile, rescue the captive white women and children, capture and destroy the ponies, lances, carbines, &c., of the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Kiowas. Mark out the spots where they must stay, and then systematize the whole (friendly and hostile) into camps, with a view to economical support, until we can try and get them to be self-supporting, like the Cherokees and Choctaws. They must clearly understand that they must never again hunt outside the limits of the territory … If the game of the Indian Territory do[es] not suffice for their support, the United States must feed them till they can raise tame cattle, sheep, and hogs …

“The House of Representatives promptly passed the bill transferring the Indian Bureau from the Interior to the War Department; but the bill is held in committee of the Senate. I believe still it will pass; but even if it do[es] not, the course I have indicated must be followed before Indian agents can pretend to manage the four bands now construed to be at war, viz: Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and Comanches. I believe that Generals Sheridan and Hazen will, when they meet at Fort Cobb, fully accomplish this, but I would like that Bull Bear and Satanta should be killed before the tribes are allowed any favors at our hands …”

NOTES:  The U.S. Senate did not concur on transferring the Indian Bureau back to the War Department; it wisely remained part of the Department of the Interior.  The truth of what happened before, during, and after the unprovoked massacre of Black Kettle and his band on the Washita River was later confirmed by Congressional and federal authorities, upholding the claims by men such as Thomas Murphy and Edward Wynkoop. (See article below entitled “From the horses’ mouths: Washita River Massacre.)

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SOURCE: W. T. Sherman, Lieutenant General, Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, 23 December 1868, to Major General P. H. Sheridan, Commanding Officer, Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, in Executive Documents printed by order of the House of Representatives during the Second Session of the Forty-First Congress 1869-1870, Volume #3, Serial Set 1425, pp. 177-178, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870.

To what degree?

{ March 26, 2013 @ 7:38 pm } · { Department of the Interior }
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William T. Sherman and Winfield S. HancockOn 13 January 1867, Major H. Douglas at Fort Dodge, Kansas, wrote a report to General William T. Sherman (St. Louis, Missouri) and General Winfield S. Hancock (Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas).

Indians in Major Douglas’ area had declared they held adequate amounts of weapons to protect their families and tribes when whites began attacking them in the spring. Douglas expressed his strong disdain for Indians who had the ability to protect themselves, and great impatience with various traders who so enabled the Indians.

In his view, Indians’ self-protection was irrelevant in comparison to the more important need to prevent non-Indians from being imperiled. Douglas’ report to Sherman and Hancock reiterated the same view held by the two Generals and their peers. Douglas summed up that view as follows:

“The Interior Department does not seem to appreciate the danger of this arming of the Indians. The evil of presenting a revolver to each of the chiefs of bands would hardly be appreciable, but when the whole rank and file are thus armed, it not only gives them greater courage to murder and plunder, but renders them formidable enemies.”

One hundred forty-seven years later, history is about to repeat itself in the Republic of the United States of America – but in an expanded fashion. Today, resentment of those who possess weapons necessary for self- and family-protection is not directed solely toward Native American Indians. Rather, it is directed toward all people (law abiding, or not).

To what degree will history be permitted to repeat itself?

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Source: Major H. Douglas, 3rd Infantry, Commanding Post, Ft. Dodge, KS, Report to Lt. Gen. William T. Sherman (St. Louis, MO) and Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock (Ft. Leavenworth, KS), in Exec. Documents, House of Representatives, 2nd session of 41st Congress 1869-1870, vol. 3, Ser. Set 1425, pp 46-48, Wash. D.C.: Govt. Printing Office, 1870.

From the horses’ mouths: Washita River massacre

{ February 3, 2013 @ 9:04 pm } · { Southern Cheyenne }
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George Custer (sitting)

George Custer (sitting)

George Custer and his troops carried out an unprovoked attack against the Southern Cheyenne who were enroute to Fort Cobb and camped alongside the Washita River in western Indian Territory in November 1868.Although his report and those of his superior officers referenced the attack as a “battle,” it was anything but. That it was an outright massacre where the majority of those murdered were children and women was confirmed later by federal authorities tasked with investigating the incident.

Custer’s 28 November 1868 report is contained in U.S. Senate Executive Documents-Serial Set 1360. But the truth of this incident (which was later validated by federal authorities) was discussed by two other individuals who attempted to protect peace-loving tribes.

Below are excerpts from reports written by Thomas Murphy and Edward W. Wynkoop – two men whose consciences and principles set them apart from the likes of George Custer, Phil Sheridan, and others.

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Thomas Murphy served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Atchison, Kansas. This 4 December 1868 letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington reiterated Murphy’s previous communications to military and government officials.

Sir: I have the honor to report that on my return yesterday from Paola, whither I had been to pay the fall annuities to Indians of the Osage River agency, I found in the public journals General Sheridan’s report of what he calls ‘the opening of the campaign against the hostile Indians,’ the perusal of which made me sick at heart. Had these Indians been hostile, or had they been the warriors who committed the outrages upon the white settlers on the Solomon and Saline Rivers, in August last, or those who subsequently fought Colonel Forsyth and his fifty scouts, no one would rejoice over this victory more than myself. But who were the parties thus attacked and slaughtered by General Custer and his command? It was Black Kettle’s band of Cheyennes. Black kettle, one of the truest friends the whites have ever had among the Indians of the plains; he who, in 1864, purchased with his own ponies the white women and children captured on the Blue and Platte Rivers by the Dog Soldiers of the Cheyennes and by the Sioux, and freely delivered them up at Denver City to Colonel Chivington, who was at the time the military commandant at that place. After this he was induced, under promises of protection for his people, to bring them into the vicinity of Fort Lyon, where they were soon afterward pounced upon by the military, led by Chivington, and cruelly and indiscriminately murdered. Black Kettle escaped, but his people, in consequence of the step he had taken to induce them to come to the vicinity of the fort, refused to recognize him as their chief, and he thus remained in disfavor with them up to the time of the treaty of 1865, at which time, after explanations on the part of the commissioners, he was reinstated.

In 1867, when General Hancock burned the villages of peaceful Cheyennes and Sioux, Black Kettle used all his influence to prevent the Cheyennes from going to war to avenge this wrong, and so persistent were his efforts in this behalf, that his life was threatened and he had to steal away from them in the night with his family and friends and flee for safety to the lodges of the Arapahoes.

“In August, 1867, when I was sent out by the Indian peace commission with instructions to assemble in the vicinity of Fort Larned all the friendly Indians belonging to the Kiowas, Comanches, Apaches, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, with a view of using them to get into communication with the hostile Indians, Black Kettle was among the first to meet me at Fort Larned, cheerfully proffered me his assistance and protection, and from that day until the conclusion of the treaty of Medicine Lodge Creek no man worked more assiduously than did he to bring to a successful termination the business then in hand, and no man, red or white, felt more happy than did he when his people had finally signed the treaty by which they once more placed themselves upon friendly relations with the government. And when he ascertained that some of the young men of his tribe had committed the atrocities upon the Solomon and Saline in August last, I have been credibly informed that so great was his grief he tore his hair and his clothes, and naturally supposing that the whites would wreak their vengeance upon all Indians that might chance to fall in their way, and remembering the treachery that had once wellnigh cost him his life (I refer to the massacre at Sand Creek), he went south to avoid the impending troubles.

Knowing these chiefs as I do, I feel satisfied that when all the facts pertaining to the late attack shall become known, it will be found that they and the few lodges with them composed that portion of their tribes who desired to remain at peace, and who were endeavoring to make their way to Fort Cobb for the purpose of placing themselves under the care of their agents on their new reservations.

Had Congress at its last session appropriated sufficient funds to continue the feeding of these Indians last June, I believe we could have kept them at peace, and that by this time they would have been quietly located on their new reservations where we could control and manage them and gradually wean them from their wild and wandering life, and in doing which it would not have cost the government as much per year as it is now costing per month to fight them, and this course would have been far more humane and becoming a magnanimous and christian nation.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Thomas Murphy, Superintendent Indian Affairs

SOURCE: Thomas Murphy, Superintendent Indian Affairs, Office Superintendent Indian Affairs, Atchison, Kansas, 4 December 1868, to Nathaniel G. Taylor, Commissioner, Office of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Difficulties With Indian Tribes in Executive Documents printed by order of the House of Representatives during the Second Session of the Forty-First Congress, 1869-1870, Volume 3, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870, Serial Set 1425, pp 5-7.

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Edward W. "Ned" Wynkoop

Edward W. “Ned” Wynkoop

Edward W. “Ned” Wynkoop served with the Army and as Agent for the Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne.He finally resigned when he could see that neither the military or federal government could be induced to exercise sensibility in interacting with indigenous people.

Wynkoop’s letters before and after his resignation bespoke his sincerity toward this country’s indigenous people. In addition to service in the Army and as Indian Agent, Wynkoop was a founder of the city of Denver, Commander of Fort Lyon, and Warden of the New Mexico Penitentiary in Santa Fe County.

Five days prior to Thomas Murphy’s above letter, Wynkoop submitted his resignation to Nathaniel G. Taylor, Indian Affairs Commissioner in Washington, as follows:

Sir: During the year 1864, while an officer in the Army of the United States, highest in authority in the Indian country in which I served, I, in the supposed fulfillment of my duty as such, congregated some five hundred friendly Cheyenne Indians together, assuring them the protection of the United States; the consequence of which was, they were attacked by a large body of volunteer troops from Colorado and nearly two hundred of their women and children and old men brutally murdered. The infamous massacre at Sand Creek will not soon be forgotten. The Indians were naturally under the impression that I was responsible for the outrage; but after they fully understood my position, I became, at their request, their agent and they have renewed the confidence they had in me previous to the Sand Creek murder, trusting me implicitly up to the time of General Hancock’s memorable expedition, they then having received assurace from me that General Hancock would not harm them, and seeing me with him whom I had been induced to accompany under assurances from himself that his mission was a peaceful one. Upon the destruction of their lodges and other property, again they naturally inferred the fault was mine and some time since, while in the performance of my duty among the Indians, I came near losing my life in consequence; but I again succeeded in regaining their confidence and am now under orders to proceed to Fort Cobb on the Washita River and congregate what Indians I can of my agency at that point or vicinity.

Since I have started on my journey thither, I have learned of five different columns of troops in the field whose objective point is the Washita River. The regular troops are under control, commanded by officers who will not allow atrocities committed; but there are also in the field under the sanction of the government, volunteer troops and Ute and Osage Indians, the deadliest enemies of all the plains Indians and whom nothing will prevent from murdering all of whatever age or sex wherever found. The point to which that portion are marching who have expressed their determination to kill under all circumstances the Indians of my agency, is the point to which I am directed to congregate them at. They will readily respond to my call, but I most certainly refuse to again be the instrument of the murder of innocent women and children. While I remain an officer of the government I propose to do my duty – a portion of which is to obey my instructions. All left me under the circumstances, with the present state of feelings I have in this matter, is now to respectfully tender my resignation and return the commission which I have so far earnestly endevored to fulfill the requirements of. To the President of the United States, who has intrusted me with the commission I have held; to yourself for the consideration always shown me; to the Superintendent, Colonel Murphy, for his invariable kindness, I shall always feel grateful.

I have the honor to respectfully forward this communication through Colonel Thomas Murphy, Superintendent of Indian affairs, to whom I will turn over what property I am responsible for, and make my appearance at Washington as soon as possible to settle my accounts.

I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant,

E.W. Wynkoop

SOURCE: Edward W. Wynkoop, enroute to Fort Cobb, 29 November 1868, to Nathaniel G. Taylor, Commissioner, Office of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Difficulties With Indian Tribes in Executive Documents printed by order of the House of Representatives during the Second Session of the Forty-First Congress, 1869-1870, Volume 3, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870, Serial Set 1425, pp 4-5.

In loving memory

{ August 2, 2012 @ 3:32 am } · { Comanche Nation, Editorials }
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Robby McMurtry

On Wednesday, 1 August 2012 AD, an Oklahoma family lost a man who was husband, father, grandfather, brother, and son.  On that day, the nationwide community of Native American Indians lost a man who has contributed so much to their heritage and traditions through his books, art work, and teaching. Also on that day, many of us lost someone we considered a dear friend.

For Robby McMurtry, a man of horses

“Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.”  (Job 39: 19-25, NIV)

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Today, I believe, Robby’s spirit rejoices at the thrones of God and Christ Jesus, and will soon (if not already) find his way to Heavenly pastures where the Creators’ fearless, leaping beauties freely roam.

He was a dear friend whom I will  miss always.

Sandy Tharp-Thee Honored at Tulsa conference

{ June 24, 2012 @ 6:23 pm } · { Cherokee Nation, Iowa Nation, Pawnee Nation }
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Opening ceremony

This is a followup to my previous article, “Lifting my friend up high!”.  Earlier this month, the 2012 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The conference was sponsored by ATALM (the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums).

Walter Echo-Hawk

The conference’s Keynote Address was given by Walter Echo-Hawk.  Echo-Hawk, of the Pawnee Nation, is a renowned speaker, attorney, and author.

Throughout the conference’s opening ceremonies, Walter Echo-Hawk’s son, Bunky Echo-Hawk, created an original work of art, showing how tribal museums and libraries preserve history and current events (see above photograph). Bunky Echo-Hawk is an artist, photographer, and writer.

Sandy Tharp-Thee

Sandy Tharp-Thee of the Cherokee Nation, was warmly greeted by hundreds of attendees, as she received the 2012 Library Institutional Excellence Award.  Sandy is Librarian for the Iowa Nation of Oklahoma.

The Iowa Nation complex, located south of Perkins, provides a multitude of services and commerce.  Their Library, overseen by Sandy, is widely-recognized for its work in advancing literacy among young and old, computer skills, resources in employment and health, activities to help preserve the Iowa people’s culture and history, and much more.

Please enjoy this six-minute video (produced by OETA) which gives glimpses of the Tulsa conference:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAeaxO7oRHI&feature=player_embedded

 

 

 

 

 

Whose land is it, really?

{ June 10, 2012 @ 11:41 pm } · { Editorials }
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Above is the U.S. map reflecting simulated reserves and corridor systems to protect biodiversity.  The map is based upon mandates issued by the United Nations, NAFTA, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Wildlands Project.  Can you tell how much land is left over for human residence?

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On 7 September 1783, New York State Senator George Washington wrote a letter to James Duane, Jr., the New York delegate to the Continental Congress.  Duane, who previously served as an Indian Commissioner, was told in that letter Washington’s plans for appropriating Indians’ lands. In conclusion, Washington cautioned Duane,  ““But as we prefer Peace to a state of Warfare, as we consider [Indians] a deluded People; as we persuade ourselves that they are convinced, from experience, of their error in taking up the Hatchet against us, and that their true Interest and safety must now depend upon our friendship … we will … draw a veil over what is past and establish a boundary line between them and us beyond which we will endeavor to restrain our People from Hunting or Settling … the Indians will ever retreat as our Settlements advance upon them and they will be as ready to sell, as we are to buy; That it is the cheapest as well as the least distressing way of dealing with them.”

Twenty years later, Thomas Jefferson was in the White House; William Harrison (the youngest son of Benjamin Harrison, a signatory on the U.S. Constitution) was serving as the Governor of Indiana Territory.  Jefferson wrote to Harrison in February 1803 on the same subject as that contained in George Washington’s letter to James Duane – how to take the Indians’ lands without them (the Indians) realizing what was happening right under their noses.

Jefferson’s February 1803 letter to Indiana Territorial Governor Harrison can be read in its entirety here. Your attention is specifically directed to Jefferson’s desire to keep the “deluded” Indians in the dark.  Harrison was a perfect accomplice in that scheme, managing to take over sixty million acres of the Indians’ lands during his eleven years as Governor.  President Jefferson cautioned Governor Harrison, “For  their [Indians’] interests and their tranquility it is best they should see only the present age of their history.”

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Over the last two centuries, hundreds of millions of acres have been appropriated by the U.S. government.  In various ways, that acreage has been re-distributed to U.S. and foreign entities – both private citizens and business entities.  Some of those lands have been re-designated as national or historical parks, forests, reserves.

Areas such as Montana’s Glacier National Park have been changed – by the UN – to UN biosphere reserves. The UN furthered its control over Glacier National Park when it concurred in the combining of Glacier National Park with Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park.  The UN then re-designated the  two parks as an “international peace park,” renaming them the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.  A number of other areas in the United States and other countries have been designated by the UN as “world heritage sites.” They, too, are now subject to UN policies under UNESCO.

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The international growth of globalization strategists has been exponential.  They have followed the advice set forth by Washington and Jefferson, to keep countries’ indigenous people unaware.  Their strategies have cleverly been expanded in order to keep most citizens unaware.

Two hundred thirty years have gone by since this process of keeping U.S. citizens unaware began; meanwhile, globalization strategists have increased their control within this country. Their success is sometimes seen in treaties, accords, agreements … and, to a large degree, without involvement of the country’s taxpayers and voters.

In those countries whose national legislative bodies have declined to ratify various UN treaties, the countries’ dictators and presidents who support UN policies and ideologies, boldly proceed to enforce them. How? By the manipulation of appropriated funds, and through executive orders,  outflanking all levels of government (federal, state, and local), as well as citizens and voters.

Thousands of entities, organizations, government agencies, politicians, and municipalities around the world have become UN affiliates.  Through those affiliates, the plans for accomplishing the goals of globalization strategists  are bearing stunning success.  People – indigenous and non-indigenous – only become aware  (if ever) after it is too late to reverse or prevent what is already in place.

My heart aches for indigenous people of  the U.S., who are unaware of the path that globalization strategists are following.  The formula which was agreed to almost three decades ago by a multitude of countries (including the U.S.) meeting with the UN in South America, was summarized in what they called an agenda – “Agenda 21.”  In forty chapters, Agenda 21 details goals of international globalization strategists, and their work which actually began to take firm hold as early as 1865.  Since then, thousands of UN affiliates have been put in place as the foundation for accomplishment of Agenda 21.

Given a choice between reading Agenda 21 or attending a football game, most pack their beer & banners and hit the road to the stadium.  But yet, my heart still aches for indigenous people of this country who are laboring against the same ideologies brought to this continent from Europe so long ago. Agenda 21 addresses all levels of life – under, on, and over this planet – with government ruling it all.

For the most part, my indigenous friends are unaware that Agenda 21 solidifies the premise of government-run reservations; this time, however, for most, if not all, ethnic groups. They are called “residential agglomerations.”  China, Russia, and the United States of America are among those well on the way to having their residential agglomerations (aka, star communities) readied.  Agglomeration conferences and plans have been ongoing for decades, both here and abroad.

During a UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I) at Vancouver, Canada in 1976, the Agenda 21 policies were articulated and agreed to by attendees.  Chapter 10 of the agenda, and other resulting agreements, clarified the globalization strategists’ opposition to individual land ownership.  Since that year, each United States President and his Administration, along with members of Congress, have used, or allowed to be used, federal monies for implementation of Agenda 21-related programs. In the states, the procedure is similarly followed as block grants and turn-back monies are received from the federal government, and used in conjunction with states’ monies.

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I plead with my indigenous and non-indigenous friends to research and study what has been done in order to keep us in the dark, unaware of the globalization strategists’ plans, unaware of anything other than just the present age of our history.

One more time – please read Agenda 21.

(Rev. 27june2012)

Clouds over Melbourne, Australia, honor The Nations

{ May 27, 2012 @ 9:41 pm } · { Signs of The Nations in Nature }
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Lifting my friend up high!

{ April 26, 2012 @ 6:17 pm } · { Cherokee Nation, Editorials, Iowa Nation }
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Sandy Tharp-Thee

My life was blessed a few years ago (and every day since) when, at a seminar, I sat down next to a lovely, dark-haired Cherokee woman named Sandy Tharp-Thee.  In the time since that first meeting, a professional and personal relationship has grown between us.

The Native American Indian community has in its midst, in the person of Sandy Tharp-Thee, an individual whose work and accomplishments will be celebrated for decades to come.  It is wonderful that she has now received well deserved recognition from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums (ATALM).  ATALM has awarded Sandy the 2012 Library Institutional Excellence Award!

Sandy is known by all her associates and friends as an exceptionally humble individual. Her pride is always directed toward the accomplishments of those she works tirelessly to assist, and toward the multitude of tribal and non-tribal people who have supported her work for many years.  Now, however, it is Sandy’s long overdue turn to be recognized for her remarkable accomplishments.

 ATALM’s determinations justifying the Library Institutional Excellence Award to Sandy:  “Library Institutional Excellence, which recognizes an indigenous library that profoundly demonstrates outstanding service to its community, is awarded to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma in Perkins, Oklahoma, its library director, Sandy Tharp-Thee, and Iowa Tribe Business Committee, Janice Rowe-Kurak,Chairman. In three short years, the library has evolved from an organization with no budget and no viable programs to a well-funded organization that is considered an “essential service.” The library now sponsors programs such as “Standing Together,” a culturally relevant collection representing all Oklahoma tribes; a dedicated webpage that engages the community in library programs; a weekly Storytime reading program in partnership with the Four Winds Child Development Center; a reading promotion program in partnership with Sonic Corporation; Summer Outreach activities that include working with Oklahoma Department of Libraries to encourage reading, gardening, art and fishing for the eagles, part of the Iowa Tribe eagle rehabilation program, a Writer’s Group, “Writers in the Wind”, that meets monthly to work on projects; Author Visit Programs with noted Native and Non-Native authors; a First Book program and Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Ready to Read and Early Literacy program, that helps children establish personal home libraries; a Starting Points program that pays for testing fees and provides training to help individuals obtain GEDs, literacy, education, career and employment opportunities. Community Outreach program targeted to the special needs of homebound elders; a One Car-One Student program where salavaged cars are recycled to pay for testing fees for GED students; an early literacy program known as “Fun in a Sack” that features kits with books, puzzles videos, and other learning tools; Working with the Iowa Tribe Cultural Preservation and Recreation to create “Living Books” recording history for future Iowa generations. Partnership with the Oklahoma Historical Society to digitize older tribal newspapers. Partnering with Iowa Tribe Bison Program, creating traveling education exhibition for outreach to schools and community. The library works closely with the JOM program assisting with tutoring of children and shares online, education, employment and career resources with five public libraries and one school library. Sandy is a member of American Indian Library Association, ALA, OLA, serves on the Oklahoma Library Tribal Committee and serves on the Oklahoma Literacy Coalition, Board of Directors representing the Iowa Tribe.”

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Learning about buffalo

Reading to toddlers and Victoria Diane

Reading to children visiting Iowa Tribal Library

Reading to toddlers

Sandy's latest project for Four Winds Child Dev. Center at Iowa Nation

Agenda 21, Segregation, Reservations

{ April 24, 2012 @ 5:06 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Earlier this month, Navi Pillay, the United Nation’s Human Rights Chief, called for a United Nations investigation on the death of a Black 17-year-old young man in Sanford, Florida. If you missed that news item, here is a link to one of the numerous media reports:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9189884/Trayvon-Martin-killing-UN-human-rights-chief-calls-for-investigation.html

 

I am not aware – yet – of the United Nations or Congress or the President calling for investigation(s) into thousands of assaults and murders of non-Blacks. Hundreds have taken place in California, Baltimore (MD), Chicago, Washington D.C., etc., just within the last four months. The latest incident involves Matthew Owens in Alabama, who was beaten by a mob of Blacks declaring it was payback for Trayvon Williams. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/justice-for-trayvon-alabama-man-in-critical-condition-after-mob-beating/

Today, a friend brought to my attention yet another United Nations investigation. This one involves indigenous people living in the Republic of the United States of America (USA). One of the several news articles about this latest investigation is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/22/un-investigate-us-native-americans?newsfeed=true

Untold numbers of us are sadly aware of the work by globalization strategists since the 1800’s. The strategists’ efforts have ratcheted up – particularly within the USA during the past two decades, and with full support by all political parties and with our tax dollars. That work includes the United Nations’ Agenda 21. Equally unsettling has been this Republic’s relinquishment to the United Nations oversight of our National Parks, as well as USA military troops, wearing United Nations insignia.

Do I want the inexcusable, sickening situations on Indian reservations eliminated in this country, as well as the rest of the Western Hemisphere? Absolutely. My writing and presentations do nothing, if not clarify my stand on this matter. But, I want to see each country appropriately tending to its business, straightening out its messes, through legal methods dictated by their countries’ national constitutions. Canada has been doing so with regard to its disastrous actions in the area of Indian education. In the USA, the recent Cobell lawsuit settlement was a step in the right direction for the government to account for some of the monies stolen from indigenous people.

I do not want our our indigenous people, or any other citizen of the USA, to be unaware of the segregation plans of the United Nations’ Agenda 21 and by other international globalization strategists. As Jewish people in the 1900’s were segregated into “ghettos,” the segregated communities being planned for the USA by the United Nations’ Agenda 21 are pleasantly referred to as “star communities.” Several other countries have also signed on to help incorporate Agenda 21, including China and Russia. Mainstream media reported last year on the “self sustaining cities” being built in China where millions of unsuspecting citizens will be re-planted. Similar reports emerged in 2010 about Russia’s twenty planned areas for the relocation of many of its 141 million citizens. This news article is self-explanatory: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/8137816/Russia-considers-biggest-population-redistribution-since-Stalin.html

Yes, the situation for many indigenous people who continue living on Indian reservations in the USA and elsewhere in the Western Hesmisphere is terrible. It is inexcusable that we in the USA have permitted out-of-control spending by politicians in Congress and the government, leaving us with a current national debt of $16 Trillion! Meanwhile, we funnel millions of tax dollars to countries who use the money more as welfare, rather than building up of their economic status, health care programs, etc. And millions more dollars are sent to organizations and countries who support terrorism – such as Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood who were given $1.5 Billion of our tax dollars this month. Perhaps I’m being too tough, since the State Department has announced that the USA’s war on terrorism is over. What? http://newsok.com/obamas-war-on-terror-just-beginning/article/feed/374242 

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The debt we owe to this country’s indigenous people can never be fully repaid. But, as Helen Hunt Jackson told Congress in 1885, each generation must do as much as it can to help this country’s indigenous people. Helen reminded Congress, “There is but one hope of righting this wrong. It lies in appeal to the heart and the conscience of the American people.” The Cobell law suit settlement was a start. Mitigation of the awful circumstances on Indian reservations is yet another matter which cries out for swift rectification.

But not by the United Nations which is working toward Agenda 21 goals for leading countries like ours. Become aware of Agenda 21: http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/

Be this as it may …..

{ January 10, 2012 @ 11:42 pm } · { Department of the Interior, Uncategorized }
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Caleb Blood Smith

Caleb Blood Smith, a career politician, was appointed by Abraham Lincoln in March 1861 as Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Later that same year, in his November Annual Report to President Lincoln, Secretary Smith wrote the following concerning the Apache and Pueblo nations:

“… as the Indians occupied that territory of both nations prior to the advent of the European race upon this continent, it seems clear that they held lands in the Territory of Mexico and the United States by precisely the same tenure. Be this as it may, the necessity that the Indians of this [southern] superintendency shall be concentrated upon suitable reservations is imperative. The rapid spread of our [white] population has reached this as well as our other Territories … the Indians in large and imposing numbers are in their midst … a constant source of irritation and vexation to the whites … To cure all these evils; to foster and protect our own settlements; to secure the ultimate perpetuity of the Territory, and a speedy development of its resources … [i.e. gold] … but one course is, in my judgement, left, and that is the concentration of the Indians upon ample reservations suitable for their permanent and happy homes, and to be sacredly held for that purpose.”

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Source:  Caleb Blood Smith, Secretary of the Dept. of the Interior to President Abraham Lincoln, 27 November 1861, CIS U.S. Serial Set 1117, Microfiche #1117, 37th Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Ex. Doc. v.1, n.1., pp 633-637.

Two does not equal one

{ December 31, 2011 @ 4:35 am } · { Glimpses inside the book! }
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John Quincy Adams

On 22 July 1823, the U.S. Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, wrote the following to Henry Middleton, U.S. Extraordinary & Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia:

          “… Adams, reiterated European intentions with respect to lands they invaded and took from the native residents:

‘It never has been admitted, by the various European nations which have formed settlements in this hemisphere, that the occupation of an island gave any claim whatever to territorial possessions on the continent to which it was adjoining. The recognized principle has rather been the reverse; as, by the law of nature, islands must rather be considered as appurtenant to continents, than continents to islands.’

From the same chapter in Conscience: Breaching Social Amnesia:

          Columbus’ first recorded stop was on a Caribbean island which he named Hispaniola (Haiti) and where he devastated the resident Taino Nation. Given his contractual agreement with Spain proclaiming him Governor, Vice-Roy, and Admiral of all lands he discovered, Columbus would have been less than receptive to recognizing the Tainos as rightful landholders. No less significant was the fact that future recognition and benefits were stipulated for his heirs in perpetuity. Columbus did not foresee any problem in achieving those personal payoffs as the Tainos did not have or use weapons such as swords: ‘With fifty men, we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want’; ‘They are the most timid people in the world, so that only the [my] men … could destroy the whole region …’

Charters and contracts directed removal of all impediments, particularly indigenous people encountered during the invasions, and confiscation of their lands. Individuals implementing the strategists’ directives were authorized to mete out whatever punishment and justice they deemed necessary in order to keep their morally and ethnically superior settlements undisturbed by Indian ‘irritants.’  As the distance between most European countries and the Western Hemisphere prohibited prompt communication, it was imperative that only individuals with the same rapacious nature as the strategists be selected to carry out the invasions. Substantial prestige and wealth had been promised to the implementers; so substantial, in fact, that conscience-free dedication by the invaders to their contractual obligations was fairly guaranteed.

In the same way that others would boldly promote the theory of manifest destiny three centuries later, Columbus invoked the Christian religion and Holy Trinity as the basis for his invasions of the Caribbean and Central America, all of which included acts of premeditated hostilities, massacres, enslavement, and seizure of the residents’ lands and other property.

… he [Columbus] was finally expelled from the Caribbean in 1500 after Governor Francisco de Bodadilla arrested him and his brother, Bartholomew, sending them back to Spain shackled in chains.

After later being denied re-entry to the port of Hispaniola, Columbus and Bartholomew relocated their activities to Panama, Central America. Still working with inaccurate maps and distances, the brothers believed they had actually landed on the Malay Peninsula (Asia). In 1504 they returned to Spain with a ship full of gold and other treasures taken from The Nations.

Those attempting to defend their families and lands against invaders were slaughtered, imprisoned, executed, or taken as slaves — the invaders officially characterizing the native residents’ defensive efforts as outrageous and degrading. On the other hand, the invaders saw their own aggression as appropriate since recipient Indians were considered heathens, even inhuman.”

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Note:  The above excerpts are found in Chapter One, pages 7 – 9, of Conscience: Breaching Social Amnesia.  Text source reference nos. 19-31 for the above-quoted material are stipulated in the Chapter End Notes on pages 169-170.

My inspirers ….

{ December 5, 2011 @ 8:16 pm } · { About Conscence: Breaching Social Amnesia }
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The Nations have always been of great interest to me (not the “Indians” of Hollywood design).  The culture, spirituality, and heritage of North America’s indigenous people have had the center of my attention for as long as I can remember.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Deep inspiration for my studies and writing came from the work and pen of Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885).  Helen’s writing ability touched the genres of prose, history-based fiction, nonfiction, and articles.  But her specific nonfiction work which drew me in was Century of Dishonor: A Sketch of the United States Government’s Dealings With Some of the Indian Tribes (1881).  With that masterpiece, Helen detailed the government’s destructive impact on The Nations.

Mari Sandoz

Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) wrote Cheyenne Autumn, history-based fiction, in 1953.  Her book touched my heart unlike any other secular book I’ve read.  It also inspired Hollywood Director John Ford’s 1953 film, “Cheyenne Autumn,” starring Richard Widmark.

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