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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2002
Stop Oneida evictions!
Oneida Nation Territory, Central New York--In May 1995, a
peaceful March for Democracy was held on Oneida homelands. The participants in
the March were exercising their rights to choose their own leadership and
government, opposing the federal imposition of Ray Halbritter and treaty
violations. Halbritter's "leadership" was imposed upon the
Oneida people, against their will, by the BIA, the federal Department of the
Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. In retaliation, Halbritter took tribal
membership away from over 200 Oneida participants, stripping them of their
tribal benefits. He also closed down our food bank that serviced 280 native
people. Halbritter then locked our longhouse (traditional religious building and
center of the community) and banned all traditional activity and ceremonies. He
threatened that any Oneida found entering any Oneida owned buildings would be
arrested. None of the Halbritter establishments--newly built Nation
court, casino, or government buildings--are located on the Oneida indigenous
territory, and none of his paramilitants or administration officials reside on
the Oneida Indian Territory. The territory residents learned from the local media that
the Halbritter administration had announced a "Beautification Project,
2001" where our homes would now be inspected, condemned, and demolished
under the guise of health and safety. In one year, 11 Iroquois families were evicted and their
homes demolished against their will. The only option these displaced families
were given was to pay rent to the Halbritter administration for homes outside of
this community. The remaining residents rejected the Halbritter-sanctioned
inspections because they only lead to eviction. Halbritter's tribal court ordered the demolition of my home
to be executed by no later than Sep. 15th. I was shocked as I was unaware of
this decision. I immediately went to Halbritter's legal office to obtain my
paperwork on this order. I was denied the demolition order, even though it's
publicly accessible. I ask for anyone who opposes violators of civil,
constitutional, religious, and human rights to please aid us in our stand to
exercise our right to fight with the truth and save my home as well as the homes
of the other remaining residents who all face the same fate. Help us to record
inhumane and cruel treatment and actions forced upon Indian people by the hired
non-native paramilitants. For more information, visit www.oneidasfordemocracy.org. --Danielle Schenandoah Patterson |
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