In 1861 the US government
negotiated a
treaty to protect the transport routes in Nevada. In this treaty
of peace and
friendship, the Treaty for Ruby Valley, the Western Shoshone
agreed to cease war
against the US and to allow construction of railroad and
telegraph lines, mining
and ranching. This treaty is distinct from those signed by most
Native nations
with the US in that it cedes no land to the US. Instead the WS
are repeatedly
referred to as a Nation, and the boundaries of this large nation
are described.
Nothing in the treaty gave, ceded, sold or traded land to the
US.
The WS abided by the treaty but the US immediately violated it.
Huge amounts of
land were given or sold to railroad companies and settlers. The
WS were never
compensated for damage to their land and food sources. In
addition, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) immediately began pressuring the WS to
give up their
nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyles. At the same time,
white settlers
harassed the Native people, driving them from their lands and
burning their
crops.
Many killings and a few massacres took place and the US
government did not follow
through with their treaty agreement to punish those responsible.
Since the
Treaty of Ruby Valley, theUS government, through the courts, has
tried to force
the WS to give up their land by payment of money. The WS have
never abrogated
the treaty. It is still in effect and the US government is
still, to this day,
violating it.
ISSUE TWO: The Dann Family
The Dann family are traditional WS who have raised cattle and
horses in Newe
Segobia for generations. For over 20 years the BLM has attempted
to remove them
from their lands saying that they are illegally on government
property.
Confiscation oflivestock, destruction of wells and bulldozing of
a primary
traditional food source, the pinon tree, are some of the methods
that have been
implemented in efforts to force the Dann family to quit their
traditional way of
life and force them from their ancestral home.
Clifford Dann is the mild, reserved, dignified,
seventy-plus-year-old brother of
Mary and Carrie Dann. He was accused by armed BLM officers of
assaulting them
when he tried to protect his possessions and those of his sisters
last year. He
was convicted in a prejudiced court, as in the Leonard Peltier
case. He is out
of jail now but remains a US political prisoner of war,under much
strain and
duress. He is living under the non-jurisdictional order of the
court to serve
out a two year probationary period and pay a $5,000 fine. This
is not justice,
this is harassment.
ISSUE THREE: Cyanide Leach Gold Mining
It is highly suspect that not one gold mine in Nevada is owned by
US
corporations. This means that the companies involved seem to be
exempt from all
laws pertaining to environmental protection. These foreign
companies have raped
the land and created a toxic area so vast that the US government
incredibly
proclaims it to be a "National Sacrifice Area".
Many nearby Native American communities have suffered the toxic
effects of
cyanide extraction gold mining, hair loss, lead poisoning,
cancer and deformed
or still-born babies. Additionally, lead, arsenic and mercury are
being released
into the ground water.
There are now four new mines proposed, all within or bordering
Newe Segobia. One
mine, the "Pipeline Deposit", near the Dann sisters' ranch, is
scheduled for
production in May, 1995. The mine pit will eventually be more
than 3,000 feet
across and 1,000feet deep. In an area where water is scarce and
precious, the
mine ANTICIPATED PUMPING UP TO 30,000 GALLONS PER MINUTE! With
the cyanide
extraction method, cyanide contaminated water is contained in
ponds, threatening
wildlife and birds. Other cyanide leach ponds in Nevada are
averaging one spill
per week. (Excerpted from WS Defense Project Newsletter, Vol. 1,
No.5,Winter
1993/1994.)
ISSUE FOUR: Nuclear Testing
Also in Nevada, over 700 nuclear bombs have been detonated by the
military. This
is in violation of the Treaty of Ruby Valley. Because of the many
radioactive
clouds from above ground tests and radioactive leaks from
underground tests, the
Shoshone, Ute, Dine, Hopi, Paiute, Havasupai, Hualopai and other
downwind
communities have unduly suffered from an above normal number of
cases of cancer,
leukemia, thyroid disease and birth defects; all are known
effects of nuclear
radiation.
WE URGE THAT THE US GOVERNMENT RETURN FULL TREATY RIGHTS TO THE
WESTERN SHOSHONE.
WE URGE THAT THE CURRENT NUCLEAR TESTING MORATORIUM BEREPLACED
WITH A
COMPREHENSIVE TEST BAN AND THAT THOSEWHO HAVE SUFFERED FROM
RADIATION BE
COMPENSATED.
WE JOIN THE WESTERN SHOSHONE NATIONAL COUNCIL AND THEEUROPEAN
COUNCIL'S MAY
DELEGATION IN URGING THAT ALL MINING ON TREATY LANDS CEASE UNTIL
FULL TREATY
RIGHTS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
WE URGE THAT THE DANN FAMILY BE ALLOWED TO PURSUE THEIR
TRADITIONAL LIFESTYLE AND
THAT CLIFFORD DANN BE EXONERATED.