Congress is scheduled to address this matter today.
* 05/27/04 We Need Your Help!!! Western Shoshone
Payoff Bill is on the Move Again! Current legislation
before the United States Congress, entitled the
Western Shoshone Distribution Bill (HR 884/S 618), is
an attempt to strip away U.S. treaty obligations and
Western Shoshone connections to their homeland by a
mere one time payment of cents on the acre.
* Congressman Asks Tough Questions of Dept. of
Interior Regarding Western Shoshone. pdf
You may download the free . pdf Reader
* 11/18/03 WORC ACTION ALERT - The End Game on the
Energy Bill
* 10/28/03 Congress is nearing a decision on a
piece of legislation that will determine the country's
energy policy for the next three decades.
* Oct. 2003: HELP SAVE a SACRED SITE and NATIONAL
MONUMENT
* 10/07/03 U.S. Usable Nukes Policy Creates
Conflicts for NATO Countries
* 09/29/03 WESTERN SHOSHONE INDIANS SUE U.S.
GOVERNMENT
*
For background and more information go to WSDP's
Distribution Bill page
link to:
http://www.peaceforallnations.com/westshoshone.htm
Action Alert - May 27, 2004
We Need Your Help!!!
Western Shoshone Payoff Bill is on the Move Again!
Current legislation before the United States Congress,
entitled the Western Shoshone Distribution Bill (HR
884/S 618), is an attempt to strip away U.S. treaty
obligations and Western Shoshone connections to their
homeland by a mere one time payment of cents on the
acre. Last week we received information that under the
guise of bi-partisanship, Senator Harry Reid and
Congressman Jim Gibbons are once again gearing up to
force this one time payment on the Western Shoshone
people for 24 million acres of land at approximately
15 cents an acre. The bill is HR 884/S 618, entitled
the "Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act". The
bill could come up for a vote on the suspension
calendar in the full House as early as this week or
shortly after the Memorial Day recess on June 2nd. If
you want to express your concerns please send or call
your local representatives and the key congressional
contacts listed below.
The fear of many Western Shoshone people and the
majority of Councils is that the forced distribution
of these monies by Congress will be used to silence
Western Shoshone concerns regarding U.S. violations of
the Treaty of Ruby Valley and ongoing violations
against Western Shoshone rights to property, due
process and equality under the law. This push is being
made at the same time that the Yucca Mountain Nuclear
Waste repository is being pushed along and Congressman
Gibbons' is sponsoring other legislation, HR 2869 and
HR 2772, which would open up Shoshone lands to
privatization by multinational mining companies and
massive geothermal energy development with no
provision for Western Shoshone interests or concerns.
Additionally, in the last two weeks, Notices of Intent
to Impound livestock have again been received by
Western Shoshone grandmothers Mary and Carrie Dann and
other Western Shoshone ranchers. The Western Shoshone
Nation needs your help now. What affects one community
affects us all.
"As Western Shoshone, we have been fighting for many
years to simply remain who we are - Western Shoshone.
The earth is our mother and land provides us with
life, like the water and the air. To take this land
from us will be to lead us into a spiritual death.
Please help us to stop this unconstitutional, unjust
and unwanted payment." Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone
grandmother.
"The elders before us stood up for life and their
understanding of the Treaty and this elder and others
still stand for the Treaty and life. Our Indian
children are over in Iraq supposedly fighting for
their country. And yet our Nevada Congressional
leaders through the Western Shoshone Distribution Act
are trying to take away the Western Shoshone homeland.
What are our Shoshone kids going to come back to -
What are they fighting for? If the war on terrorism is
about protecting this country then why is our own
government trying to take away our homelands?" Mary
McCloud, Western Shoshone elder.
A key points sheet and sample letter are attached
below for your reference.
WHAT TO DO:
1. Contact your local Representatives and the
following:
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
439 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: 202-225-3119
www.house.gov/berkley
(Nevada Congressional Representative who has not yet
supported or opposed the bill - but does oppose Yucca
Mountain. Her opposition to the bill would add
tremendous weight.)
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
439 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: 202-225-3119
www.house.gov/berkley
(Nevada Congressional Representative who has not yet
supported or opposed the bill - but does oppose Yucca
Mountain. Her opposition to the bill would add
tremendous weight.)
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
Progressive Caucus Chair
1730 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Fax: 202-225-5745
www.house.gov/kucinich/info/contact.htm
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Progressive Caucus Co-Chair
1724 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Fax: 202-225-9817
barbara.lee@us.house.gov
(The Progressive Caucus could take a stand against the
bill.)
Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
Black Caucus Chair
1632 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: 202-225-3178
(The Black Caucus could take a stand against the
bill.)
Congressman John Lewis
Black Caucus
34 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Fax: 202-225-0351
(The Black Caucus could take a stand against the
bill.)
The Western Shoshone Distribution Bill - H.R. 884/S
618
Key Points
* HR 884/S 618 is an attempt to legitimize the theft
of Western Shoshone lands and to initiate massive
corporate giveaways of the land and its resources.
* This bill distributes money awarded for an
alleged extinguishment of title to 24 million acres of
land, the vast majority of which is currently
classified as "public" lands. The issue of title to
the land and accounting for resource extraction is the
subject matter of current litigation, I, 03-CV-2009,
U.S. District Court, D.C.
* This bill would open the way to large scale
privatization of lands held sacred by the Western
Shoshone and currently used and occupied by the native
people for grazing, gathering medicinal and food
plants, hunting and fishing, and ceremonial purposes.
The stage is already being set for corporate giveaways
and largescale privatization of the lands. For
example: H.R. 2869 would work to give away Western
Shoshone lands to major mining interests such as
Placer Dome; HR 2772 would encourage large scale
expansion of geothermal energy production with no
provision for Western Shoshone cultural beliefs or
compensation for use of the hot water; Senator Reid's
office has drafted the Northern Nevada Public Lands
Management Act which creates a process for large scale
privatization of the same lands.
* The land produces 2/3 the gold in the U.S.,
making it the third largest gold producing area in the
world, behind South Africa and Australia. Due to the
enormous wealth of minerals, a 1999 USGS report sited
the area as the number one investment opportunity for
extraction companies.
* Energy companies are lining up for access to the
vast geothermal resources with Senator Reid calling
the area the next "Saudi Arabia" of geothermal energy
production.
* In a November 2003 letter sent to Secretary of
Interior Gale Norton, Congressman Grijalva (AZ) raised
serious concerns about the real intent of the bill and
the involvement of the federal government and mining,
energy and nuclear industries in presenting a
misleading picture of the issues to the public and to
members of Congress.
( The letter in .pdf format. - download the free
. pdf Reader ).
* Western Shoshone people oppose HR 884/S 618.
* A majority of the tribal councils and all of the
traditional Western Shoshone oppose the distribution
of money until the resolution of the land issues.
* In 1980, at the formal Hearing of Record, the
claims money was rejected because the U.S. could not
demonstrate how it had legally acquired title to the
land. Since that time, there has never been any vote
of the Western Shoshone on the bill. The straw poll
ballot referenced by Congressman Gibbons and Senator
Reid was never authorized or certified by any Western
Shoshone government. Despite a request by Congressman
Tom Udall (NM), Interior has failed to provide any
documentation of its statements that a "majority" of
people are in favor of the bill.
* HR 884/S 618 underscores fundamental human rights
violations against the Western Shoshone.
* The Western Shoshone have never received a
hearing on the issue of title. The only issue decided
by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Dann was whether
or not "payment" had been made when the money was
accepted by the Department of Interior on behalf of
the Western Shoshone. The Supreme Court said "yes",
Interior serves as a "trustee" to the Indians and
Interior's acceptance equals acceptance by the Western
Shoshone, thereby triggering a statutory bar to
litigation on the issue.
* Last year, after 10 years of briefings and
hearings, an international judicial body (the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) found that
the process used by the U.S. violates Western Shoshone
rights to property, to due process, and to equality
under the law.
* Amnesty International has issued a formal report
on the situation and has called upon the United States
to adhere to the international ruling of the
Inter-American Commission.
* The Department of Interior continues acts of
armed surveillance and threats of impoundment against
Western Shoshone. (In the past Congressional session,
hundreds of cattle and horses were forcibly seized by
the Department under military-type tactics.)
* What the Western Shoshone Nation is asking for is
reasonable.
* From the beginning, the Western Shoshone have
asked for good faith negotiations with the United
States. Their request is simple: to sit across the
table and talk on an equal level.
* Complex negotiations occur in the corporate
world everyday and if the U.S. were to commit the
appropriate political will, a process could be decided
upon that would satisfy all concerned.
* The cost to the taxpayer would be less than
continuing the dispute and may in fact save monies
which would otherwise be spent in ongoing enforcement
actions against Western Shoshone and monies wasted or
not realized in private sweet heart deals with
corporations and land developers.
( THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF "WHAT TO DO:" )
SAMPLE LETTER
May ____, 2004
Honorable Congressman ____________,
I write this letter in opposition to the Western
Shoshone Distribution Bill sponsored by Congressman
Gibbons and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. The bill has
been reported to the full House as HR884/S618. I ask
you, as a member of Congress to stop this bill and to
initiate an investigation with the Inspector General's
office or other appropriate body to determine what is
really going on with this attempt to silence the
Western Shoshone Nation.
If passed, HR 884/S 618 could have devastating impacts
on the people of Nevada, the Western Shoshone and the
United States. The bill is an attempt to pay off the
Western Shoshone for part of their ancestral land base
- where they still live and pray - approximately 24
million acres of land, most of which the U.S.
classifies as "public" lands . In order to force the
people off the land, the Department of Interior has
conducted several armed roundups of Western Shoshone
livestock over the past two years. These actions are
being taken despite a recognition of the Western
Shoshone land base in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley -
as a member of Congress, how can we ignore a fully
ratified Treaty and force an unwanted payment on
people? Impacts from passage of this bill include
escalating disputes and litigation over native rights
under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, loss of economic
benefits to tribal and local communities and loss of
international respect for the United States on its
policies regarding indigenous peoples. Who benefits?
The beneficiaries of this theft of Western Shoshone
lands are the Mining, Energy and Nuclear industries.
Western Shoshone land encompasses the world's third
largest production of gold, cited by the USGS in 1999
as the number one investment opportunity for mineral
extraction companies; the area has also been described
by one Nevada politician as the next "Saudi Arabia" of
geothermal energy production; and the land at issue
includes Yucca Mountain - proposed site of the
nation's nuclear waste repository - and the Nevada
Test Site - where the Bush administration has
referenced possible renewed nuclear weapons testing.
Last year, the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights found that with regard to the Western Shoshone,
the U.S. is currently in violation of rights to
property, due process and equality under the law. In
the fall of 2003, a federal lawsuit was filed on
behalf of Western Shoshone in the U.S. District Court
in D.C. (Western Shoshone, et al. v. U.S. Case No.
03-CV-2009). HR 884/S 618 raises fundamental questions
about how the federal government treats indigenous
peoples and represents an appalling example of current
U.S. policy. The Western Shoshone need to address
their hunting and fishing and gathering of food and
medicinal plants. Their children need to feel
connected to the lands of their ancestors. The Western
Shoshone are the caretakers of these lands and the
Distribution Bill threatens their existence as Western
Shoshone people. They deserve good faith negotiations
or a hearing in a fair judicial proceeding, not 15
cents an acre and spiritual genocide.
I can no longer stand for the abuses against native
peoples, fundamental human rights and the rights of
the future generations. That is not what this country
should stand for. We must do the right thing now
regarding the people who have afforded all of us the
land we now live on and our own right to prosper, at
unbelievable cost to their own lives and well being.
Hopefully, we have evolved into a nation where we will
protect as equally as our own, the rights of the
original Indian Nations of this land.
Thank you for your attention to this serious issue and
your opposition to HR 884/S 618.
Sincerely,
__________________________________
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