From: Robert Dorman <redorman@theofficenet.com>
Unfortunately, I do not have the article to which Mr. Mocilnikar
refers.
If someone can email it to me, I will post it along with this
rebuttal.
--Bob Dorman
>To: redorman@theofficenet.com
>Subject: response to Eugene Kaye
>X-Mailer: Juno 1.49
>From: james j mocilnikar <jjmoman@juno.com>
>Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 16:04:40 EST
>
>Bob,
>this is in response to Eugene Kaye's editorial in Tutuveni,
Nov. 10 which
>was signed Office of the Chairman, Hopi Tribe. J
>
>Fact Finding
>
>I commend Eugene Kayes sentiment [Tutuveni, Nov. 10]
about the
>importance of factual accuracy. At times, I have questioned
the accuracy
>of the Daily Sun myself. While he decries the "clear
absence of critical
>facts," its unfortunate that the facts he uses on the
very same page
>dont stand the light of day.
>
>Lets take the 1882 Executive Order Reservation which
he says was
>established by "Chester Arthur for the exclusive use
of the Hopi Tribe".
> Actually, the 1882 document says the arbitrary rectangle
was set aside
>"for the Moqui [Hopi] and such other Indians as the
Secretary of
>Interior sees fit to settle thereon". When Hopi Chairman
Healing took
>Navajo Chairman Jones to the Supreme Court in 1963, the Justices
>reaffirmed this doctrine. They supported Navajos 50%
right to the
>minerals and the surface of the Joint Use Area within the
1882
>reservation.
>
>Curiously, Mr. Kaye blames the Navajo for encroachment and
fails to
>mention non-Indians. The other 95% of Hopi aboriginal territory
was
>given away from Washington by decree. To the railroads, the
mining
>companies, the timber industry, the Forest Service, the Park
Service,
>homesteaders, and the Navajo. It has been suggested that
the 1882
>reservation was intended to keep the Mormons out.
>
>Indeed, its non-Indians that are removing Woodruff Butte,
an aboriginal
>landmark, for road gravel; restricting Hopi access to eagles
at Wupatki,
>and removing, contaminating, and exporting Hopi water. Theres
little
>doubt that Hopi has gotten the shaft. Was it Navajo that
gave it to
>them? Back to the facts, the Hopi Tribal Council approved
the Indian
>Claims Commission suit to sell the 95% of aboriginal claims
to Washington
>at 19th Century prices. The same attorney initiated Healing
v. Jones and
>the Peabody coal leases.
>
>Yet, Mr. Kaye clings to "three sovereigns". The
sovereignty of the
>Office of the Chairman is another questionable fact. From
my limited
>knowledge of Hopi history, each village is sovereign and the
idea that
>anyone could assume authority over all the villages was un-Hopi.
>Unfortunately, when Washingtons New Deal brought constitutional
>democracy to Hopi, the 85% of voters who boycotted the election
were not
>counted as no votes. The Hopi Tribal Council (HTC) won 8
to 92. Since
>then, villages have often withheld their delegates to the
HTC, plaguing
>it with a persistent lack of quorum. Not only that, Congress
claims
>"plenary [complete and total] power" over Indians
who were wards of the
>state when the Navajo Business Council was created for Standard
Oil.
>Yet, there seems to be a sovereign masquerade. The emperors
new clothes
>reveal his nakedness.
>
>In the clear absence of critical facts, what does it mean
when peaceful
>settlement is used to describe the Accommodation Agreement.
The signers
>and non-signers of the so-called agreement tell of strong-arm
attempts to
>get their signatures. Surveillance by Hopi Rangers with BIA
Police
>escort to count sheep and extended family members. When friends
come to
>herd sheep for the elderly who feel they are under siege,
Mr. Kaye calls
>them "outside agitators...advocating violence".
He points to "divisive
>and hateful efforts". I was taught that when I point
at someone else,
>three fingers are pointing back at me.
>
>On this issue, it appears the HTC has advanced through the
first three
>stages of domestic violence. Isolation of those who have
resisted
>relocation. Blame, shame and guilt for having been born on
the wrong
>side of the fence. Intimidation to create fear lest they
step out of
>line. The verbal abuse is beginning. If the cycle is not
interrupted,
>violence is inevitable. There is a state of emergency at
Hopi.
>
>James J. Mocilnikar
>1911 N. 2nd St.
>Flagstaff, AZ 86004
>226-9049
>