Sovereign Dineh Nation
P.O. Box 1968
Kaibeto, AZ 86053
(520) 673-3461
Web page: http://www.westworld.com/~sol/index.html and
http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1html

 

RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT

THE PINE RIDGE LAKOTA SUIT

AGAINST THE DEA

 

 

Affirming our solidarity with the Pine Ridge Lakota in support of their right
to produce industrial hemp, Request to file an Amicus brief in support of the
Pine Ridge Lakota suit against the DEA, And request for assistance for Dineh
to grow hemp next planting season

 

Whereas:

1. Sovereign Dineh Nation is distinctly separate from the Navajo Nation,
composed of all Dineh resisters against forced relocation by the US
government and/or Peabody Western Coal Company, having issued a Declaration
of Independence in October 1979 and renewed our vision in July 1998; and

2. The Council of Elders our Board of Directors, and the Representatives of
Sovereign Dineh Nation as a duly authorized and interested party is seeking
to file an Amicus brief in support of the Pine Ridge Lakota in their suit
against the DEA; and

3. We believe that precise language regarding the hemp plant is a critical
issue involved in this suit; and

4. We recognize that Pine Ridge is one of the most impoverished areas in the
United States and its inhabitants recognize that government subsidy is no way
for them to sustain themselves; and

5. We agree with Mr. Tom Cook, Mr. American Horse and other industrial hemp
proponents that the hemp crop is a stepping stone towards developing economic
sustainability while nourishing the natural environment; and

6. We recognize that the imminent destruction of their culture necessitates
a need to return to the land if the younger generation is going to have a
chance of understanding their heritage despite the fact that the US
government does not seem inclined to allow the Lakota Nation to develop
economic independence by any means other than gambling or unsustainable
mineral resource development; and

7. We recognize that this suit against the DEA and the Lakota’s right to
grow hemp is both a statement of sovereignty and a way to help the Pine Ridge
Lakota continue their traditional way of life on their sacred land; and

8. We wish to join with the Non Governmental Organization (NGO) community
and other Indigenous Nations that have begun to express their support of the
Lakota to ensure that this issue is not swept under the rug like so many
other issues that are of vital importance to Indigenous peoples; and

9. We recognize that the mere fact that hemp is growing wild is an
inescapable reminder that industrial hemp was once a cornerstone of
agriculture in America; and

10. We too suffer from dire poverty and a profound lack of economic
development and are seeking support to be able to grow hemp next planting
season; and

11. We too face many obstacles to religious freedom as land-based
practitioners and suffer from the destruction of sacred sites due to the US
government and Peabody Coal Company’s mining activities; and

12. We believe that US Public Laws 93-531 and 104-301 violates the human
rights of the Dineh families and affirms that the US and its agents, the
Navajo Tribal government and the Hopi Tribal government have systematically
violated the human
rights of the Dineh families, including the right to free expression of
religion, and the destruction, both physical and spiritual, wreaked by the
partitioning of the land, and the relocation practices; and

13. We have exhausted all remedies within the US judicial system and filed a
Complaint in April 1997 with the UN Commission on Human Rights based in
Geneva, Switzerland and with the UN Sub-Commission for the Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities; after which the UN Commission on
Human Rights dispatched a Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Mr.
Abdelfattah Amor to travel to Black Mesa on February 3, 1998; and

14. This is the first time that the US is being investigated by the UN for
violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief which are human
rights, during the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and in light of a
recent land rights study proposed by the UN focusing on Indigenous peoples
use of the land and their land-based religion; and

15. This demonstration of solidarity is essential in order to ensure
economic development for traditional peoples’ and a greater respect and
reverence for Indigenous land-based religion and the protection and
preservation of sacred lands.

Now Therefore Be It Resolved That:

 

1. Sovereign Dineh Nation supports the right of the Pine Ridge Lakota to
grow industrial hemp.

2. Sovereign Dineh Nation wishes to file an Amicus brief in support of the
Pine Ridge Lakota in their suit against the DEA for we believe that this
action is critical in the protection of Indigenous sovereignty.

3. Sovereign Dineh Nation seeks the support of the Pine Ridge Lakota for us
to grow hemp during the next planting season.

4. Sovereign Dineh Nation seeks the support of the Pine Ridge Lakota to help
us preserve our religious rights and protection of our sacred land.

 

CERTIFICATION

 

We certify the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the Council of
Elders, the Board of Directors of Sovereign Dineh Nation and our
Representatives at a duly called meeting at which a quorum was present and
was passed by a vote of 15 in favor,
-0- opposed and -0- abstaining, this Fourth day of October, 1998.

 

 

Signatories of this Resolution:

 

Glenna Begay
Carlos Begay
Zonnie Whitehair
Mazzie Begay
Hosteen Nez Begay
Kee Watchman
Pauline Whitesinger
Bonnie Whitesigner
Bob Chaat
John Benally
Leonard Bennally
Salina Begay
Louise Singer
Roberta Blackgoat
Marsha Monestersky, Consultant

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