Israel isn't nibbling at Palestine. It has taken huge mouthfuls. It has
done to Palestinians what America did to its native population.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2016 9:03 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bundy Militia Claims Indigenous Paiute Land
as Oregon Land
Once again we are confronted by the question, Whose Government are we
talking about? The one charged to protect the Indian Rights? Or, is it the
government that allows the White settlers to "nibble" at the Indian Lands?
The American Indian has never had a government in Washington D.C.
And bit by bit the Working Class Americans are being nibbled to death by
that same government. Sort of like Israel nibbling at Palestine.
The difference is that our Working Class is the backbone of this nation.
destroying it will also bring down the American Empire.
Carl Jarvis
On 2/12/16, S. Kashdan <skashdan@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Bundy Militia Claims Indigenous Paiute Land as Oregon Landon it."
By Steve Russell
Indian Country Today Media Network, Tuesday, January 5, 2016
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/34284-bundy-militia-claims-indig
enous-paiute-land-as-oregon-land
Some of the same armed "militia" involved in the Cliven Bundy affair
in Nevada have occupied federal land in Oregon formerly reserved for
the Northern Paiute. Ironically, the "legal" basis for starting a
fight with the
federal government is that sovereignty "really" belongs to Oregon
rather than the Paiutes, who have seen their federal trust land shrink
from over one and a half million acres to a tiny remnant of 760 acres
in Burns, Oregon, where this current armed standoff began.
Cliven Bundy is a Nevada rancher who engaged in an armed standoff with
the federal government in 2014 when some of his cattle were seized
over 20 years
of unpaid grazing fees. "Militia members" and "patriots" from all the
western states and phototropic politicians from as far away as Arizona
joined Bundy. Video at the time showed "militiamen" taking aim at
federal officers, and the authorities decided a bloodbath over grazing
fees was not
sensible. When the federal agents stood down, the militias declared a
major
victory.
This Saturday, January 2, the war over federal authority continued
when an unknown number of militia members seized a building in the
Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge and Ammon Bundy - Cliven Bundy's son - released a
video urging like thinking people to arm themselves and come to
Oregon, declaring,
"We're going to be staying for several years."
The "militiamen" claimed the occupation of the empty building was
accomplished by 150 armed men. The armed occupation of Malheur
Wildlife Refuge grew out of demonstrations over the impending deadline
for Steven Hammond, 46, and his father Dwight Hammond, Jr., 73, to
report to federal custody to begin serving five years in prison each
for arson on public lands.
At the Hammonds' trial, the government argued that the fires were set
to cover up evidence of poaching activities. The Hammonds did not deny
setting
the fires but claimed their purpose was to destroy invasive species.
In the 2014 standoff, Cliven Bundy claimed that federal agents had no
authority in Nevada. He now claims the same of Oregon, stating
Saturday, "United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or
authority within the State of Oregon."
If anything is clear-cut about Indians in the Constitution, it is that
relations with Indian nations are a federal responsibility. Carrying
out that responsibility in Oregon, President US Grant established the
Malheur Indian Reservation for the Northern Paiute in 1872. It is no
coincidence that the historical reservation shares a name with the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, site of the current armed standoff.
White settlement nibbled at the Maiheur Indian Reservation until the
Bannock
War in 1878, which ended with surrendered Paiutes and Bannocks on the
reservation being removed, officially to the Yakama Reservation in
Washington Territory. Unofficially, Paiutes had scattered all over the
Western States that comprised their aboriginal lands. The Burns Paiute
Reservation is the remains of the Malheur Reservation and the Maiheur
Wildlife Refuge is an alternative use for the federal land, for those
who believe the federal government exists.
As in Nevada, the Bundys claim the only lawful authority in the area
is the
Harney County Sheriff David Ward, who they have petitioned to take the
Hammonds into "protective custody" from the US Marshal.
In a video posted on YouTube, Ammon Bundy said, "This is a time to
stand up." Willamette Week reported that militia members have been
arriving in Burns, Oregon, for weeks.
Jon Ritzheimer made a farewell video for his family before heading out
to fight with the "oppressive, tyrannical" federal government and
posted it on
YouTube. If he were not promising to "die a free man," his rant about
the Constitution would be humorous. While he would fail my
constitutional law course, his, ahem, unusual reading of the document
loses some humor value when he offers it as a reason to "lay my life
down to fight against tyranny," tyranny put in place by "kids who
never got their hands dirty who
went off to college" and came back thinking they know as much about
land management as farmers.
Ammon Bundy claims on video to be doing God's work and says of the
2014 standoff, "because people came, we are free." He also claims that
the US Attorney threatened to get the Hammonds assigned to "a less
desirable prison" if they kept consulting with the militia and that
would be "a death
sentence." Urging people to join in, he referred to the occupation of
the Wildlife Refuge as, "This wonderful thing that the Lord is about
to accomplish."
The Oregonian reported that one of the occupiers is Ryan Payne, an
army veteran who claimed to have organized snipers to target federal
agents during the 2014 standoff at the Bundy ranch in Nevada.
Another veteran of the Bundy standoff, Blaine Cooper, told The
Oregonian, "I
went there to defend Cliven with my life."
Oregonian coverage was up to date as of early January 3, and included
this statement on the situation from Harney County Sheriff David Ward:
After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside
militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and
occupied the refuge headquarters. A collective effort from multiple
agencies is currently
working on a solution. For the time being please stay away from that area.
More information will be provided as it becomes available. Please
maintain a
peaceful and united front and allow us to work through this situation.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, the Hammonds are not
as quick to advocate shooting at federal officers as Cliven Bundy. The
AP quoted a letter from the Hammond family lawyer, W. Alan Schroeder,
to Sheriff Ward: "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his
group/organization
speak for the Hammond family." Dwight Hammond himself told the AP that
he and his father intend to turn themselves in on January 4 as
ordered. "We gave our word that's what we would do, and we intend to act
University-Bloomington.
While state and federal law enforcement agencies discussed how to end
the occupation without bloodshed, Cliven Bundy from his Nevada ranch
and the occupiers in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge used social
media to call
for supporters to come to Oregon. And come armed.
Steve Russell, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, lives in Sun City, Texas,
near Austin. He is a Texas trial court judge by assignment and
associate professor emeritus of criminal justice at Indiana
Steve was an activist in Austin in the 1960s and 1970s, and wrote foron it."
Austin's underground paper, The Rag. Steve is also a columnist for
Indian Country Today, where a version of this article also appeared.
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By The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program | Op-Ed
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By Terrance Heath, Campaign For America's Future | Op-Ed
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Front-Line
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By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Interview
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Bundy Militia Claims Indigenous Paiute Land as Oregon Land
Tuesday, 05 January 2016 00:00 By Steve Russell, Indian Country Today
Media
Network | Op-Ed
*
* font size decrease font size increase font size
* 127
With fellow protesters on either side of him, Ammon Bundy, back to
camera in
center, speaks to reporters at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge,
Princeton, Oregon, January 4, 2016. (Photo: Jarod Opperman / The New
York
Times)
Some of the same armed "militia" involved in the Cliven Bundy affair
in Nevada have occupied federal land in Oregon formerly reserved for
the Northern Paiute. Ironically, the "legal" basis for starting a
fight with the
federal government is that sovereignty "really" belongs to Oregon
rather than the Paiutes, who have seen their federal trust land shrink
from over one and a half million acres to a tiny remnant of 760 acres
in Burns, Oregon, where this current armed standoff began.
Cliven Bundy is a Nevada rancher who engaged in an armed standoff with
the federal government in 2014 when some of his cattle were seized
over 20 years
of unpaid grazing fees. "Militia members" and "patriots" from all the
western states and phototropic politicians from as far away as Arizona
joined Bundy. Video at the time showed "militiamen" taking aim at
federal officers, and the authorities decided a bloodbath over grazing
fees was not
sensible. When the federal agents stood down, the militias declared a
major
victory.
This Saturday, January 2, the war over federal authority continued
when an unknown number of militia members seized a building in the
Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge and Ammon Bundy - Cliven Bundy's son - released a
video urging like thinking people to arm themselves and come to
Oregon, declaring,
"We're going to be staying for several years."
The "militiamen" claimed the occupation of the empty building was
accomplished by 150 armed men. The armed occupation of Malheur
Wildlife Refuge grew out of demonstrations over the impending deadline
for Steven Hammond, 46, and his father Dwight Hammond, Jr., 73, to
report to federal custody to begin serving five years in prison each
for arson on public lands.
At the Hammonds' trial, the government argued that the fires were set
to cover up evidence of poaching activities. The Hammonds did not deny
setting
the fires but claimed their purpose was to destroy invasive species.
In the 2014 standoff, Cliven Bundy claimed that federal agents had no
authority in Nevada. He now claims the same of Oregon, stating
Saturday, "United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or
authority within the State of Oregon."
If anything is clear-cut about Indians in the Constitution, it is that
relations with Indian nations are a federal responsibility. Carrying
out that responsibility in Oregon, President US Grant established the
Malheur Indian Reservation for the Northern Paiute in 1872. It is no
coincidence that the historical reservation shares a name with the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, site of the current armed standoff.
White settlement nibbled at the Maiheur Indian Reservation until the
Bannock
War in 1878, which ended with surrendered Paiutes and Bannocks on the
reservation being removed, officially to the Yakama Reservation in
Washington Territory. Unofficially, Paiutes had scattered all over the
Western States that comprised their aboriginal lands. The Burns Paiute
Reservation is the remains of the Malheur Reservation and the Maiheur
Wildlife Refuge is an alternative use for the federal land, for those
who believe the federal government exists.
As in Nevada, the Bundys claim the only lawful authority in the area
is the
Harney County Sheriff David Ward, who they have petitioned to take the
Hammonds into "protective custody" from the US Marshal.
In a video posted on YouTube, Ammon Bundy said, "This is a time to
stand up." Willamette Week reported that militia members have been
arriving in Burns, Oregon, for weeks.
Jon Ritzheimer made a farewell video for his family before heading out
to fight with the "oppressive, tyrannical" federal government and
posted it on
YouTube. If he were not promising to "die a free man," his rant about
the Constitution would be humorous. While he would fail my
constitutional law course, his, ahem, unusual reading of the document
loses some humor value when he offers it as a reason to "lay my life
down to fight against tyranny," tyranny put in place by "kids who
never got their hands dirty who
went off to college" and came back thinking they know as much about
land management as farmers.
Ammon Bundy claims on video to be doing God's work and says of the
2014 standoff, "because people came, we are free." He also claims that
the US Attorney threatened to get the Hammonds assigned to "a less
desirable prison" if they kept consulting with the militia and that
would be "a death
sentence." Urging people to join in, he referred to the occupation of
the Wildlife Refuge as, "This wonderful thing that the Lord is about
to accomplish."
The Oregonian reported that one of the occupiers is Ryan Payne, an
army veteran who claimed to have organized snipers to target federal
agents during the 2014 standoff at the Bundy ranch in Nevada.
Another veteran of the Bundy standoff, Blaine Cooper, told The
Oregonian, "I
went there to defend Cliven with my life."
Oregonian coverage was up to date as of early January 3, and included
this statement on the situation from Harney County Sheriff David Ward:
After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside
militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and
occupied the refuge headquarters. A collective effort from multiple
agencies is currently
working on a solution. For the time being please stay away from that area.
More information will be provided as it becomes available. Please
maintain a
peaceful and united front and allow us to work through this situation.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, the Hammonds are not
as quick to advocate shooting at federal officers as Cliven Bundy. The
AP quoted a letter from the Hammond family lawyer, W. Alan Schroeder,
to Sheriff Ward: "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his
group/organization
speak for the Hammond family." Dwight Hammond himself told the AP that
he and his father intend to turn themselves in on January 4 as
ordered. "We gave our word that's what we would do, and we intend to act
University-Bloomington.
While state and federal law enforcement agencies discussed how to end
the occupation without bloodshed, Cliven Bundy from his Nevada ranch
and the occupiers in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge used social
media to call
for supporters to come to Oregon. And come armed.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It
may not
be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
STEVE RUSSELL
Steve Russell, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, lives in Sun City, Texas,
near Austin. He is a Texas trial court judge by assignment and
associate professor emeritus of criminal justice at Indiana
Steve was an activist in Austin in the 1960s and 1970s, and wrote for
Austin's underground paper, The Rag. Steve is also a columnist for
Indian Country Today, where a version of this article also appeared.
RELATED STORIES
Bundy's Friends Have Become the Kochs' Useful Idiots
By The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program | Op-Ed
Bundy's "Militia" Is Lawlessness of a Different Color
By Terrance Heath, Campaign For America's Future | Op-Ed
Indigenous Climate Activists: Paris "Police State" Is the Reality
Front-Line
Communities Live With
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! | Video Interview
