From: "Mary Margaret Fondriest" <fmary@uswest.net>

This is a bit out of date, but i thought important enough to not remain
untold...

On February 25, presidential candidate Bill Bradley spoke to a mixed crowd
of democrats and Evergreen students during his campaign trail in Washington
State. With only 36 hours notice, the college prepared for his visit by
clearing the Library building of almost every single political/activist
oriented flyer and decorating the lobby with red white and blue galore.
Midway through his speech, two of us standing right up front unravelled our
beautifully painted banner in support of the Dine.

After his speech about why he should be our next president, the floor opened
to questions. The first question was in regard to his top campaign
contributors --- the fourth largest being Lehman Brothers, current "owners"
of Peabody Coal (www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/indus/P80000516.htm). When
asked how their $87,500 contribution would influence his policies regarding
Indian land and the struggle at Big Mountain specifically, he replied that
all of his contributors know that their donations to his campaign would have
nothing to do with his actions and decisions as president. He also
responded that he "seconds no one as far as Native American issues were
concerned", and then went on to say that he wasn't familar with what is
going on with Big Mountain or Peabody Coal. After his speech was over, I
handed him an information packet about the forced relocation. I very
clearly told him he needed to become familar with what is going on at Big
Mountain. For additional information about his speech, check out

http://www.studentactivist.com/staff/bradley.htm

The Olympia Big Mountain Support Coalition, among other things, is currently
working on maintaining a steady flow of supporters who can make significant
time commitments, fundraising and supply gathering, educating, and
challenging the coorporations directly involved with the harassment of the
Dine. We welcome any input and guidance about the work we are doing.

in peace, solidarity, struggle and resilience,

Mary Margaret Fondriest
Olympia Big Mountain Support Coalition
fmary@uswest.net