Knw Steatfa Her Qkouad "I have fohed here forever, through my ancestors,* says Margaret Palmer the Yakama t r ix ii member who has headed the protection of traditional fishing scaffolds sites of her people at "The Pomt*, a spiritual and cultural site and sacred bunal grounds located on the CcLunbia R iver in Washington State T h is b where ftoh come to give qp th e ir spirits It is s a c re d * Known in the Native Sahoptin os Nanainmi Watobtaulklt. T h e Point’ has been used by fishing people fo r thousands of years Abo, because of Us location above the KhLtotal bar, the Pomt has long served as a roosting area fo r a colony of Bald Eagles that nest a mile or so Mp the K H l total River "The Point* is targeted fo r the development of S3 tots by the CoLunb» Gorge Investors Limited Portnershgi, whose representative » H enry Sbencer Phone, water, sewer, and electric hues are in place, with projected selling prices ranging from $72,000 to $215,000 Spencer has stated that he has followed the proper prox «tores far acquiring the acreage "I've talkrd with the Yakima Trtoal Council and County Commissioners and there were no objections * But a Cultural Committee member of the Yakama Nation says, T h e Nation is not in agreement with Spencer's terms * Upon response to an earlier request lo r prelim inary plat approval, six agencies, incbdm g the BIA, the Yakama Indian Nation and State Arch®otog»ts all responded with comments to the effect that there were arch ®o tog c a l, cultural, and wildhfe resources there, tm tid in g two teryeis of Indian bunal sites and rem nants of the histone Lyle period They commented that the proposed development would have sitostantiaily negative effects qpon these resources At a Moy 13, 1933 Khctatat County environm ental review committee meeting, with sta ll members in attendance as well as members of the Yakama Nation, C h ef Johnny Jackson, Klickitat-Caseade, did state that Lyle Pomt is a sacred historical bunal site Yet a Dectaratton of Non significance was issued by the Khctatat County Planning Department The Yakama Nation challenged the development in Federal Court as a v u h t n ii of their Treaty of 18S5 Federal Judge Alan McDonald in a ruling March 24th, 1994, accepted the Yakama treaty rights case at the Federal level stating that "This court considers the plaintiffs' federal claims to be substantial in nature and import ’ A Federal Court date of March 1995 has been set for the trial The Yakama Nation's request fo r a temporary Inunction to halt the housing devetodment wu3 not granted, p re s u m w h becaush the developer suspend«! operations at the site Though leaving Henry spencer rree to resume developing the site. Judge McDonald let in be known that "this Court's equitable powers are broad, indeed, extending as far as ordering demolition of any houses found to impair the exercise of plaintiffs' treaty protec ted rights, reopening any roads, and providing .sufficient space necessary for the ei«rcw e of histoncal rights * Seattle attorney Grant Deginger, representing Spencer, successfully argued that peqple not entitled to the trtoal fishmg easement are trespassing This denied access to the contested site to all but members of the Yakama Nation of Washington and the Warm Springs Nation of Oregon To protect her fishmg scaffolds, Margaret Palmer started an encampment on September 27, 1993, with the bght of a ‘ sacred fire * The fire was to burn for os long as the octxpatMJh continued T h e Pomt* was occxpied by both Indian and non Indian stgjporters u n til July of 1994 when Spencer, (burning fire hazard h a i deputies extinguish the sacred fire, which was found burning unattended Also removed at about the same time were a tonghoise, sweat lodge, and shelters around the sweat lodge and the now extinguished sacred fire T he ir remnants were found, p a itn ily txirned, in a ‘ no (tamping* site Khctatat County Sheriff Jim dtaoson says that on July 13 Spencer asked that non Indians and some visiting Native Americans from the Shoshone Reservation in Idaho be asked to leave T h o s e he's allowed to be there are not a liiw rd to invite others to trespass,* Gtooson said Yakama Trtoal Councitor Bill Yalkp S r , qccted in the Dalles C h ro n tta on August 5. says "Spencer has a nght to remove non Vakamas, so to speak * He went on to say that "they'd actually be violating his property rights tiy trespassing We don't want to I** a port of t h a t " But having said that, Yalkp noted that the Council s till supports an encampment by Yakamas Y a lip s a il further that trtoal elders are displeased with the "interference of non Indians and non Yakamas* in the encampment Yakama trtoal council representatives would go down to the encampment and find non Indians in tepees and the sacred fire not being attended by Yakamas Margaret Palmer and C hef Johnny Jackson welcomed sqpport from whoever wished to co n trtw te Chief Johnny Jactoon says that this B more than just T h e Pomt", a local isaie. o r a trtia l issue "This b a global «sue and w must incorporate it mto the bigger picture ’ Thcwgh both Margaret and Chief Johnny Jac kson consatently bring ip the issue of the area being a state hBtoncal bunal site, to the Yakama Tnbal Council the «sue « s tn c tly one UFPCR LEFT M t OCTOBER )W of trtoal access to fBhtng in "usual and accustomed" twtung sites Fbr the week end of Ajgust 27, Margaret, C h e f Johnny and the Lyle Point Alhance an noun i od that they w juid begin the process of resurrecting the encampment, after the pfqpvi prayers and dedication < eremonies T h e ir intentions were to reconstruct the tepee Village rehglit the sar red fire, and begin to rebuikl the sweattodge and tonghouse Greenpeace's portable solar electnc generator Cyrus, was to be on hand to showcase clean efectnc power which b not proxtoced by the salmon destroying dams of the Cotomb« Khctatat County Sheriff Jim Gleason said that deputies w u ld be on hand, altowmg only members of the Yakama and Warm Springs trtoes onto the property Trtoal members and Ureir invited guests viewed this action as a threat to th e ir c iv il rights becaise they w re not allowed to practic e th e ir religion Protestors say they are going m, o r gomg to jail Satunlay. Aug/ut 27. brought four arrests, and a skirm ish between sheriff's deputies and non trtia l protestors, both sides claiming that they vwre assailled Sheriff Gleason t bums that protesters were only a rre s t^ i after they had been told "IS to 20 tim es’ what the consequences w j i i l be Over the week end law enforcement officers from 10 agencies, tnctodtng the totnt Wasco County Sheriff City of the Dalles Pohce SERT team were called to secure the arrest of 24 protestors All t u t one of those arrested wore non Indians Ronald True, an Alaskan Hatia. arrived from Portland, Oregon with two friends to attend the religious ceremonies and support the encampment Finding the road blocked, they wnlta*d a short distance and soon encountered a Yakama trt«al pobceman who escorted them m his vehicle to where sheriff officers m»re stationed Havmg questions to ask the Sheriff, the trio qaprooched him, and were immediately a rre st«! for trespassing One of those who accompanied Ron True to T h e Pomt" says that the Tribal officer went d l l of h « way to deliver them to Sheriff Gleason, and that they received no warning about the no trespassing none Many of those arrested at the main gate assert that they wpre entk er your help m this, not only as a statem ent of solidarity with the First Nations, but also because Leonard’s case is a clear example of the US government suppressing the voice of an activist As long a i the US government keeps Leonard in prison there exists the danger of all aonal activists, labor, human rights, peace, environmental etc , of ending up in the same place as Leonard I he Northwest Leonard Peltier Support Network is planning a march on the US,Canadian border in October US supporters will tie marching north to the border and Canadian supporters marching south to the bonier We are s king endorsements from organizations, publications, and groups This march on the broder is a part of the L “ In te rn a tio n a l Ieo n ard P eltier S olida rity Week” , Octoher 17-23 1994 If you wish to add your voice to this call for ;mpport for Ixonard Peltier, plea .- fill out the form below and send it back to us Thank you Name _ Address ___ .___ ________ P h o n e ------------------- 1. Contact Person M a rc h O n (h e B o r d e r c o NW LPSG Network. PO Box 5464 Tacoma, WA 98415-0464 Phone (2061-383-9108