I’ve provided numerous commentaries about why and how newly made “tribes” seek federal or state recognition. This is the first of a series that will address a U.S. Senate and a House bill that has been introduced to provide federal recognition to an organization in Florida that is called the “Muscogee Nation of Florida“.
Both S. 514 and H.R. 2028, “To extend Federal recognition to the Muscogee Nation of Florida“, contain misinformation and is an attempt by this group to escape the scrutiny required to determine if it is actually a tribe or not. Should the Senate pass S. 514, and the House pass the comparable H.R. 2028 (which contains the same misinformation), a great disservice and carriage of injustice will be made against legitimate tribes and American Indians.
In order to address the misinformation given in both S. 514 and H.R. 2028, comments will be made in certain paragraphs of the bills so that both the Senate and House can be aware of the deceit that is being presented to them. Both bills are identical. The sponsors and co-sponsors of these bills are most likely unaware of the misrepresentations included in the bills, and merely accepted the information given to them by the “Muscogee Nation of Florida“ in good faith. However, this does not negate the potential damage that these bills can cause.
Members of Congress who have accepted the claims of this organization, apparently without question or raise of an eyebrow include: Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) Sponsor H.R. 2028; Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) Co-sponsor H.R. 2028; Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Sponsor S. 514; Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) Co-sponsor S. 514.
Members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the “Indian” Committee without Indian members since Senator Campbell left the Senate, also have accepted testimony from the Muscogee Nation of Florida without question. (Hearing: On the process of federal recognition of Indian Tribes September 19, 2007).
The national media and Florida governmental entities have also fallen prey to the “Muscogee Nation of Florida“, rewriting and promoting a false revisionist history of American Indians in Florida. Perhaps the worst scenario includes the hundreds of individuals who have joined the organization under the belief that it’s claims are true.
Extensive documentation, plus dozens of images of historical documents and photographs, have been collected that disprove the Muscogee Nation of Florida claims made in the bills. Because of the limitations of space, only examples of the complete documentation will be provided in the comments. However, these examples will be more than enough to show the validity of my position.
Having filed their own petition and documentation for federal recognition in 1978, perhaps most telling of the true nature of the Muscogee Nation of Florida (formerly as the Eastern Creek Nation) is that some of the leaders and individuals involved in this organization were also involved with other groups claiming to be a Creek Indian tribe and that were petitioning the BIA for recognition during the same general period. In addition, many claims in the different petitions were similar. The other petitioning organizations were:
Creeks East of the Mississippi
Letter of Intent to Petition, Petitioner #010, 1972.02.21.
Receipt of Letter of Intent, Federal Register Notice, 1979.01.02, 44 FR 116-117.
Final Determination, Federal Register Notice, 1982.04.06, 47 FR 14783.
Not Acknowledged
Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe East of Mississippi
Letter of Intent to Petition, Petitioner #008, 1972.02.02.
Receipt of Letter of Intent, Federal Register Notice, 1979.01.02, 44 FR 116-117.
Final Determination, Federal Register Notice, 1981.10.21, 46 FR 5
Not Acknowledged
MaChis Lower Alabama Creek Indian Tribe
Letter of Intent to Petition, Petitioner #087, 1983.06.10.
Receipt of Letter of Intent, Federal Register Notice, 1983.08.18, 48 FR 37528
Final Determination, Federal Register Notice, 1988.06.23, 53 FR 23694.
Not Acknowledged
It should be noted that Walton County, Florida, played an important role in the claims of the above different organizations. For example, 26 percent of the MaChis Lower Alabama Creek Tribe was listed as living in Walton County. Walton County also plays a major role in the current Muscogee Nation’s claims.
It’s undeniable that there are residents and families in Florida that might be of Creek descent. However, a close study of Muscogee Nation of Florida will show that while it might have an enrollment of a few individuals with actual Creek ancestry to various extents, the organization is also comprised of individuals who have been solicited from disperse locations and who cannot document either a Creek genealogy or historical family ties with the group. An unbiased research will also show that there is no independent historical documentation or study that indicates the Muscogee Nation of Florida existed at all, in any form, before the 1950’s.
The Ward family of Bruce and surrounding Walton County is the primary nucleus of many claims made by the Muscogee Nation of Florida. Ward family records and documents were also included in the original attempt by the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe - East of the Mississippi, Inc., which the Muscogee Nation of Florida (as the Eastern Creek Nation) was a part of. The Ward family records and documents submitted and showing them to be Creek Indians have since been shown by the foremost Ward family genealogist and researcher, Jerry Merritt of Pensacola, to be recent 1950’s forgeries. The claims that Elizabeth Ward, wife of William B. Ward ( father of William Joseph Ward in Walton County - where the Ward Indian ancestry stories take place) was Creek Indian have also been discounted as untrue.
Fabricated genealogies are common in groups claiming to be American Indian. Unfortunately, the fabricated Ward documents have found their place in Florida record collections beginning in 1978 and continue to mislead Ward family researchers into believing that the family was Creek Indian. These same documents have been used by local Florida organizations to present a false history of their area.
The Muscogee Nation of Florida first gained the attention of a good acquaintance and I in Arkansas early in 2006. This was during efforts to ensure that legitimate American Indians were given the opportunity to participate in American Indian workshops and presentations given by the Arkansas Arts Council, National Parks, State parks, and public schools within Arkansas.
At that time, it was discovered that enrolled American Indians were completely disfranchised from these activities. Every single identified workshop or presentation was being conducted by individuals who had no legitimate tribal connection and were only self-identified as being American Indian. This activity included the selling of arts and crafts in violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, Public Law 101-644.
One of the individuals involved, Valerie Lynn Goetz of Arkansas, is a member of the Muscogee Nation of Florida. She claimed that the Muscogee Nation of Florida was a state recognized tribe. However, she was extremely unknowledgeable about the history of the group, and was still in the process of researching her own genealogy on internet genealogy boards. Ms. Goetz was very active in presenting American Indian craft workshops in both National and State Parks in Arkansas and Missouri, and is promoted as an American Indian artisan by the Arkansas Arts Council. Besides selling her crafts in Arkansas and Missouri under the guise of being American Indian, her crafts are also being sold by the Pensacola Historical Society, Inc. in Florida as being American Indian made. (Ms. Goetz, under her maiden name of Hanks, had applied as Eastern Creek for the 1971 Creek land claim awards census. She and all other family members were rejected.)
As a result of our inquiries to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Governors Office, the Florida State Legislature Office, and the Governor’s Commission on Indian Affairs, we learned that the Muscogee Nation of Florida was not recognized by the state as a tribe - as widely claimed. The synopsis of this discovery is included as a comment under the state recognition claim made in the Senate and House bills.
A spokesperson of the federally recognized Miccosukee Tribe of Indians in Florida told me that she had never heard of the Muscogee Nation of Florida.
The comments that will be made in following posts are directed to certain paragraphs of S.514 and H.R. 2028 are introductory comments only. They are the result of a preliminary look at the claims made in the bills, which are easily identified as misleading by those who make even the smallest effort to research the organization past the story it promotes. These comments provide a stepping stone for my readers and those who are involved with the approval and passage of these bills to use for further investigation before they make a final determination whether or not the Muscogee Nation of Florida should be recognized as a legitimate historical tribe.
As with all my posts, it will be up to the reader to make up their own decisions concerning the veracity of my comments and opinions.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
In Support Of Fake Tribes
It’s amazing why real Indians continue to provide nourishment and support to known fraudulent “tribes”. In doing so, they are pounding nails into the coffin of the American Indian, assisting in the revision of American Indian history, furthering the destruction of tribal traditions, and legitimizing the victimization of those who are seeking a connection with an American Indian ancestry.
It would be hard to speculate what actually drives a certain Indian individual or group to prostitute themselves in support of pretend tribes. Is it merely for money, or perhaps an ego trip? Is it because they are unaware of the true nature of the organization they are supporting? Or, perhaps it is because these folks just plain do not care about, or consider, the damage that they strew?
Earlier this month I received a letter from an American Indian who associated with, and supported, an organization called the “Northern Cherokee of Missouri and Arkansas“. It was very apparent that he had not one inkling of an idea about the real history of the organization and was unable to tell the difference from fabricated claims and actuality. Although his case can be described as resulting from being woefully uninformed, it is nevertheless just as damaging. He might be excused for his past support of the Northern Cherokee, but any continued support after receiving factual information would be inexcusable.
A more recent example of an Indian group supporting a pretend tribe occurred on 19 April at Dardanelle, Arkansas. The Arkansas Cherokee Nation aka Chickamauga Cherokee of Arkansas held a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Riverfront Park.
The Arkansas Cherokee Nation was formed this past fall as a breakaway faction of the “Lost Cherokee of Arkansas and Missouri“. The “Lost Cherokee” is the organization that was involved in the fraudulent OIE Title VII grants to 21 Arkansas school districts that had no Indian students. Part of the manipulation of these fraudulent grants included false information being given to families of students and pressure to join the Lost Cherokee at $30 per family member. The organization also attempted to illegally charge a 5% administration fee for assisting in obtaining the grants, and also attempted to illegally remove student records from the school district and charging a maintenance fee.
The Lost Cherokee split into two factions after it came under federal investigation for it’s part in the scam. One faction is operated out of Conway, Arkansas by Cliff Bishop, the other out of Dover by Doug Maxwell. Both the Bishop and Maxwell groups claim to be the original “Lost Cherokee”.
Maxwell, the original incorporator, then went on to dissolve the original Lost Cherokee of Arkansas and Missouri and filed a new organization with the state, the “Lost Cherokee Tribal Association, Inc”, on 08/07/2006. Maxwell operates his “Lost Cherokee tribe” under the Association. Meanwhile, Bishop is believed to operate his “Lost Cherokee tribe” under the umbrella of the “Missionary Church of the Lost Cherokee Nation, which he started in 2003.
Their split resulted in several court cases between the two groups concerning their membership rolls and associated documents. Maxwell claims that Bishop took and hid the membership documents. This caused a third faction to be formed, the “Lost Cherokee Oversight Committee”, headed by Doyle Turner of Palo Cedro, California.
It was about this time that the Lost Cherokee became involved in bilking the estate of eighty-nine year old Opal Southerland Gefon, of Heber Springs, Arkansas, to a tune of almost three quarters of a million dollars. Both the Bishop and Maxwell factions fought over this money, with the Bishop faction winning.
Now, Harold Hilton, an individual who was heavily involved with the Lost Cherokee, has started his own group, “The Arkansas Cherokee Nation aka Chickamauga Cherokee of Arkansas “. This group is also in Conway and is actively soliciting other Lost Cherokee members to join them. For their 19 April ceremony, among those invited was the Manatidie Society from the Apache Tribe in Anadarko, Oklahoma.
Despite a letter written directly to Apache Tribal Chairman Alonzo Chalepah, giving information on the background of the Arkansas Cherokee Nation and asking the Tribe to reconsider any participation in the ceremony, the Manatidie Society attended with nine dancers, five singers, and seven drummers. According to the “Arkansas Cherokee Nation”, the Society “performed dances for nearly 4 hours including a special dance to honor the Arkansas Cherokee Nation Chiefs and a dance to honor all U.S. Veterans.”
As a retired Army veteran with 20 years of active service and an additional seven years with the National Guard and Reserve, I consider any dance that the Society did with the Arkansas Cherokee Nation to “honor veterans” a dishonor, not an honor. It’s a poke in the eye to legitimate Indian veterans everywhere.
Why Apache Tribe members attended the ceremonies might be an enigma, especially after the Chairman had been informed of the nature of the Arkansas Cherokee Nation. The excuse of not knowing the history behind the organization cannot be used. This can only give to the conjecture that those who attended are among the American Indians who - in the long run - don’t care a whit about the damage they do in supporting fabricated “tribes”.
It would be hard to speculate what actually drives a certain Indian individual or group to prostitute themselves in support of pretend tribes. Is it merely for money, or perhaps an ego trip? Is it because they are unaware of the true nature of the organization they are supporting? Or, perhaps it is because these folks just plain do not care about, or consider, the damage that they strew?
Earlier this month I received a letter from an American Indian who associated with, and supported, an organization called the “Northern Cherokee of Missouri and Arkansas“. It was very apparent that he had not one inkling of an idea about the real history of the organization and was unable to tell the difference from fabricated claims and actuality. Although his case can be described as resulting from being woefully uninformed, it is nevertheless just as damaging. He might be excused for his past support of the Northern Cherokee, but any continued support after receiving factual information would be inexcusable.
A more recent example of an Indian group supporting a pretend tribe occurred on 19 April at Dardanelle, Arkansas. The Arkansas Cherokee Nation aka Chickamauga Cherokee of Arkansas held a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Riverfront Park.
The Arkansas Cherokee Nation was formed this past fall as a breakaway faction of the “Lost Cherokee of Arkansas and Missouri“. The “Lost Cherokee” is the organization that was involved in the fraudulent OIE Title VII grants to 21 Arkansas school districts that had no Indian students. Part of the manipulation of these fraudulent grants included false information being given to families of students and pressure to join the Lost Cherokee at $30 per family member. The organization also attempted to illegally charge a 5% administration fee for assisting in obtaining the grants, and also attempted to illegally remove student records from the school district and charging a maintenance fee.
The Lost Cherokee split into two factions after it came under federal investigation for it’s part in the scam. One faction is operated out of Conway, Arkansas by Cliff Bishop, the other out of Dover by Doug Maxwell. Both the Bishop and Maxwell groups claim to be the original “Lost Cherokee”.
Maxwell, the original incorporator, then went on to dissolve the original Lost Cherokee of Arkansas and Missouri and filed a new organization with the state, the “Lost Cherokee Tribal Association, Inc”, on 08/07/2006. Maxwell operates his “Lost Cherokee tribe” under the Association. Meanwhile, Bishop is believed to operate his “Lost Cherokee tribe” under the umbrella of the “Missionary Church of the Lost Cherokee Nation, which he started in 2003.
Their split resulted in several court cases between the two groups concerning their membership rolls and associated documents. Maxwell claims that Bishop took and hid the membership documents. This caused a third faction to be formed, the “Lost Cherokee Oversight Committee”, headed by Doyle Turner of Palo Cedro, California.
It was about this time that the Lost Cherokee became involved in bilking the estate of eighty-nine year old Opal Southerland Gefon, of Heber Springs, Arkansas, to a tune of almost three quarters of a million dollars. Both the Bishop and Maxwell factions fought over this money, with the Bishop faction winning.
Now, Harold Hilton, an individual who was heavily involved with the Lost Cherokee, has started his own group, “The Arkansas Cherokee Nation aka Chickamauga Cherokee of Arkansas “. This group is also in Conway and is actively soliciting other Lost Cherokee members to join them. For their 19 April ceremony, among those invited was the Manatidie Society from the Apache Tribe in Anadarko, Oklahoma.
Despite a letter written directly to Apache Tribal Chairman Alonzo Chalepah, giving information on the background of the Arkansas Cherokee Nation and asking the Tribe to reconsider any participation in the ceremony, the Manatidie Society attended with nine dancers, five singers, and seven drummers. According to the “Arkansas Cherokee Nation”, the Society “performed dances for nearly 4 hours including a special dance to honor the Arkansas Cherokee Nation Chiefs and a dance to honor all U.S. Veterans.”
As a retired Army veteran with 20 years of active service and an additional seven years with the National Guard and Reserve, I consider any dance that the Society did with the Arkansas Cherokee Nation to “honor veterans” a dishonor, not an honor. It’s a poke in the eye to legitimate Indian veterans everywhere.
Why Apache Tribe members attended the ceremonies might be an enigma, especially after the Chairman had been informed of the nature of the Arkansas Cherokee Nation. The excuse of not knowing the history behind the organization cannot be used. This can only give to the conjecture that those who attended are among the American Indians who - in the long run - don’t care a whit about the damage they do in supporting fabricated “tribes”.
The Greed Continues
This comment was one of the last made on my old site. The copy was sent to me by a previous reader who has found me again. Since the information contained in the comment is of recent nature, it is being introduced once more.
The unmitigated greed of those who misleadingly profess to be an American Indian "tribe" was demonstrated this past month in Ohio by Oliver Collins, "principal chief of the Tallige Cherokee Nation". These folks demand everything that they believe they should receive as an "Indian". After repeated warnings, the Scioto County sheriff's office raided the group's Cherokee Bingo Hall on Rt. 23 on 17 March and shut the operation down. .The raid followed the refusal of the so-called "tribe" to pay the annual $4,000 licensing fee.
While this might seem to be a high fee, the group has been taking in over a million and a half dollars per year on it's bingo games. It's earnings were the second highest among 16 bingo operations in the county.Despite the million plus earned last year, the "Tallige" claimed only $15,520 in profit. Collins explained that the bingo money has been used "to teach the community about the tribe, to foster Indian adoptions, to hold religious conferences and to sponsor dance teams." In other words, the money was used to mislead the public, stick their nose into the Indian Child Welfare Act, and promote bastardized Indian religious ceremonies.
In a different interview, Collins stated: "One-hundred percent of the proceeds of Cherokee Hall - which has games two days a week, Thursdays and Sundays - goes to charity, Collins said. "It goes to support the hall, and to help the Cherokee Nation, of which there are about 600 of us, most of us here in southern Ohio. We also have a church and retreat on 39 acres in Adams County. We help support all that."
However, one ex-member described the spending thusly: "Mostly it supported him and his family and he was sure to throw crumbs to the people." This is pretty much supported by Collins' claim that, because of the bingo being shut down, that he and his family were left with no physical means of support.
Once involved in the selling of fake Mohawk BIA cards, Collins' response to the shutting down of his "Cherokee" bingo operation was: "They are trying to assimilate us by hurting us in the pocketbook. We advance our nation, we fight for our people, and we are a religious organization. But they are still trying to kill the Indians." He further described the raid as an "invasion" on sovereign Indian territory." This is not about a bingo game," he said. "Our sovereignty rights - the rights of the Cherokee Nation, have been violated. We come under the Bureau of Indian Affairs." "We are the refugees from the Trail of Tears," he said. "My ancestors were not captured. We escaped and came here."
As an example of my past warnings about the U.S. Census and growing Indian population fueled by wannabes, Collins has previously exclaimed: We must start calling ourselves Cherokees in today's society. It is time to come out of the closet and make ourselves known to the dominant society–OUT IN PUBLIC! In 1990 when the next United States Census is taken, we must say on the forms that we are Cherokee. We must change our Race on all documents, such as, Drivers License, Social Security Number, Birth Certificates, etc." This is a common refrain found in the newly founded "tribes", with the ultimate goal of having federal Indian funds misdirected.
The "Tallige Cherokee Nation", was started in 1972 and incorporated in 1988 - the same time period that all of the other little groundhog Indians began appearing. Like some other groups, it also lies about being a "state recognized tribe".
Perhaps the most onerous activities of this group occurred in 1987, when it stuck it's nose into the reburial of forty seven Indian remains at newly built Kalanu Native American Cemetery in Scioto County. Although the remains were most likely of Shawnee Indians, the group claimed them as "our ancestors" and conducted what they called a "traditional Cherokee burial ceremony". As a part of commonalities between the different newly founded "tribes", other groups and individuals have also usurped legitimate Indians in the reburial of remains - despite current NAGPRA laws.
The unmitigated greed of those who misleadingly profess to be an American Indian "tribe" was demonstrated this past month in Ohio by Oliver Collins, "principal chief of the Tallige Cherokee Nation". These folks demand everything that they believe they should receive as an "Indian". After repeated warnings, the Scioto County sheriff's office raided the group's Cherokee Bingo Hall on Rt. 23 on 17 March and shut the operation down. .The raid followed the refusal of the so-called "tribe" to pay the annual $4,000 licensing fee.
While this might seem to be a high fee, the group has been taking in over a million and a half dollars per year on it's bingo games. It's earnings were the second highest among 16 bingo operations in the county.Despite the million plus earned last year, the "Tallige" claimed only $15,520 in profit. Collins explained that the bingo money has been used "to teach the community about the tribe, to foster Indian adoptions, to hold religious conferences and to sponsor dance teams." In other words, the money was used to mislead the public, stick their nose into the Indian Child Welfare Act, and promote bastardized Indian religious ceremonies.
In a different interview, Collins stated: "One-hundred percent of the proceeds of Cherokee Hall - which has games two days a week, Thursdays and Sundays - goes to charity, Collins said. "It goes to support the hall, and to help the Cherokee Nation, of which there are about 600 of us, most of us here in southern Ohio. We also have a church and retreat on 39 acres in Adams County. We help support all that."
However, one ex-member described the spending thusly: "Mostly it supported him and his family and he was sure to throw crumbs to the people." This is pretty much supported by Collins' claim that, because of the bingo being shut down, that he and his family were left with no physical means of support.
Once involved in the selling of fake Mohawk BIA cards, Collins' response to the shutting down of his "Cherokee" bingo operation was: "They are trying to assimilate us by hurting us in the pocketbook. We advance our nation, we fight for our people, and we are a religious organization. But they are still trying to kill the Indians." He further described the raid as an "invasion" on sovereign Indian territory." This is not about a bingo game," he said. "Our sovereignty rights - the rights of the Cherokee Nation, have been violated. We come under the Bureau of Indian Affairs." "We are the refugees from the Trail of Tears," he said. "My ancestors were not captured. We escaped and came here."
As an example of my past warnings about the U.S. Census and growing Indian population fueled by wannabes, Collins has previously exclaimed: We must start calling ourselves Cherokees in today's society. It is time to come out of the closet and make ourselves known to the dominant society–OUT IN PUBLIC! In 1990 when the next United States Census is taken, we must say on the forms that we are Cherokee. We must change our Race on all documents, such as, Drivers License, Social Security Number, Birth Certificates, etc." This is a common refrain found in the newly founded "tribes", with the ultimate goal of having federal Indian funds misdirected.
The "Tallige Cherokee Nation", was started in 1972 and incorporated in 1988 - the same time period that all of the other little groundhog Indians began appearing. Like some other groups, it also lies about being a "state recognized tribe".
Perhaps the most onerous activities of this group occurred in 1987, when it stuck it's nose into the reburial of forty seven Indian remains at newly built Kalanu Native American Cemetery in Scioto County. Although the remains were most likely of Shawnee Indians, the group claimed them as "our ancestors" and conducted what they called a "traditional Cherokee burial ceremony". As a part of commonalities between the different newly founded "tribes", other groups and individuals have also usurped legitimate Indians in the reburial of remains - despite current NAGPRA laws.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wannabe Seamstress Claims Work As Her Own
The unethical and fraudulent acts by those involved in newly fabricated “tribes” in order to enrich their own pockets apparently knows no bounds. Rita “Cheyenne Autumn” Chance, a member of the “Chickamauga Cherokee Tribe Indian Creek Band” of Deltona, Florida and wife of its “Chief”, Bill “Little Red Wolf” Chance, is a prime example.
The “Chickamauga Cherokee Tribe Indian Creek Band” was created as a Florida corporation on 5 September, 2000 - Document Number N00000005978. As with other similar groups, it bases it’s existence on revisionist history. The organization also has close ties with the infamous “Manataka American Indian Council” of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Mrs. Chance advertises herself as having a “reputation for creating beautifully designed and well crafted regalia has grown to such an extent that dancers from coast to coast in Canada and the United States are placing orders - Hawaiians too - Making her the Queen of Powwow regalia!” Her advertisements also claim: “Rita has a degree in fashion design and uses her special knowledge and talent for creating some of the most talked about, beautifully designed Indian regalia anywhere around.”
The problem that arises is that the regalia she advertises on her site is not regalia that she has made, but photos of regalia that she has lifted from other artisan’s sites. At least nineteen photos were identified by Janet Littlecrow as being of creations made by herself and her daughter, Christy. Janet is an excellent seamstress and regalia designer (she made my Otter Hat and Gourd Dance blanket) who operates Littlecrow Trading Post in the Red Rock, Oklahoma, Otoe-Missouria reservation. As this is being written, other legitimate Indian regalia makers are also in the process of identifying regalia used by Chance as examples of her own work.
The fraudulent use of photos by Chance depicting the creations of legitimate Indians as her own is devastating to those who depend on their work for their livelihood. Rita “Cheyenne Autumn” Chance‘s actions in doing this are reflective of her so-called “tribe’ , and similar others, in stealing everything they can from the Indian peoples.
I hope that prospective customers of this woman deeply reconsider any business that they might contemplate conducting with her.
The “Chickamauga Cherokee Tribe Indian Creek Band” was created as a Florida corporation on 5 September, 2000 - Document Number N00000005978. As with other similar groups, it bases it’s existence on revisionist history. The organization also has close ties with the infamous “Manataka American Indian Council” of Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Mrs. Chance advertises herself as having a “reputation for creating beautifully designed and well crafted regalia has grown to such an extent that dancers from coast to coast in Canada and the United States are placing orders - Hawaiians too - Making her the Queen of Powwow regalia!” Her advertisements also claim: “Rita has a degree in fashion design and uses her special knowledge and talent for creating some of the most talked about, beautifully designed Indian regalia anywhere around.”
The problem that arises is that the regalia she advertises on her site is not regalia that she has made, but photos of regalia that she has lifted from other artisan’s sites. At least nineteen photos were identified by Janet Littlecrow as being of creations made by herself and her daughter, Christy. Janet is an excellent seamstress and regalia designer (she made my Otter Hat and Gourd Dance blanket) who operates Littlecrow Trading Post in the Red Rock, Oklahoma, Otoe-Missouria reservation. As this is being written, other legitimate Indian regalia makers are also in the process of identifying regalia used by Chance as examples of her own work.
The fraudulent use of photos by Chance depicting the creations of legitimate Indians as her own is devastating to those who depend on their work for their livelihood. Rita “Cheyenne Autumn” Chance‘s actions in doing this are reflective of her so-called “tribe’ , and similar others, in stealing everything they can from the Indian peoples.
I hope that prospective customers of this woman deeply reconsider any business that they might contemplate conducting with her.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Caddo Nation and Identity Theft
Identify theft is sub-divided into four categories. Three of those categories are financial identity theft, identity cloning and business/commercial theft. Financial identity theft is using another’s identity to obtain goods and services. Identity cloning is using another’s information to assume his or her identity in daily life. Business/commercial cloning is using another’s business name to obtain credit or advantage in business dealings.
The crime of identity theft has been increasing in the past seven years, with some estimates quoting a figure of between five and nine million individuals becoming victims every year. This is most likely an inflated number, which might be closer to between 500,000 to 700,000 yearly. No matter what the actual number is, identity theft has become a daily subject in the media.
It shouldn’t become a startling revelation to anyone that many Indian tribes and the American Indian peoples have been victims of identity theft for several decades. This started in earnest around the middle 1970’s, increased substantially in the 1980’s, and continues to rise in a crescendo today. The fight against this identity theft has been mostly left to American Indian activists scattered around the country, without tribal backing of any note.
“Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality” passed at the Lakota Summit V in 1993 was a worthy attempt at addressing the multitudes of problems caused by exploiters, wannabes, and New Agers. But it soon was attacked by a cacophony by protestors, and with lack of tribal support fell into the dust bin of history.
Taking a leap light years ahead of other tribes, in 2001 the Tribal Council of the Caddo Nation in Binger, Oklahoma, took an unprecedented and valorous step to protect the Tribe and it’s members from identity theft. The Council passed a resolution to “protect for the Caddo Nation the proprietary ownership of it’s name, it’s cultural/tribal history and to protect the Tribe from illegal or unauthorized usage or sale of any written compositions, books or products that have been derived from any association, both known or unknown, with the Caddo Nation, it’s Tribal programs or it’s Tribal membership”.
Unlike many resolutions of all kinds, the Caddo meant for their resolution to actually have teeth to help the Nation. Nor did they put the resolution on the back shelf and forget about it. These teeth were bared in November of 2007 when the Nation addressed a Louisiana state recognized “tribe” calling itself the “Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana”.
The 7 November letter to Mr. Rufus Davis, “Chief” of the “Adai Caddo” points out “Your Louisiana state recognition is based in part in that you and your tribe believe you are also “Caddo.” The letter then continues to describe the fallacy of that claim. Davis is further warned:
“You are hereby notified by the Caddo Nation Tribal Council (representatives of the federally recognized tribal government) that you should immediately cease and desist use of the federally recognized name “Caddo” in any and all of your media communications, including, Internet websites, advertising and marketing correspondences or other communicative correspondences to further the recognition of the Adai at either state or federal levels and as such, you shall from this time forward stop using the name “Caddo” in any further correspondence in regard to the “Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana”.
“Should you continue using the name CADDO, a federally recognized name used only by the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, we will have no choice but to pursue legal remedies to the fullest extent available to us.“
Resounding Kudos to the Caddo Nation! If other Nations and Tribes would follow suit and become as active in protecting themselves from identity theft, perhaps the continued existence of the American Indian peoples might have some chance after all.
As with other states, it should be noted that Louisiana has not one iota of criteria for recognizing an Indian tribe. Any group can become a tribe merely by passage of concurrent resolutions in the State House and Senate. No proof of Indian identity or previous existence is required. Once again, large amounts of Federal Indian monies are diverted to support newly created “Indians”.
No study of the “Adai Caddo” organization would be complete without looking at their “ Adai Caddo Indian Nation Cultural Center”, which opened in July, 2004 - complete with teepees. The “Adai Caddo artifacts” contained in the Center are just as interesting. From the appearance of these “artifacts” I suspect that Mr. Davis or some his organizational members spent more than a few dollars on junk Indian crafts on E-bay.
The crime of identity theft has been increasing in the past seven years, with some estimates quoting a figure of between five and nine million individuals becoming victims every year. This is most likely an inflated number, which might be closer to between 500,000 to 700,000 yearly. No matter what the actual number is, identity theft has become a daily subject in the media.
It shouldn’t become a startling revelation to anyone that many Indian tribes and the American Indian peoples have been victims of identity theft for several decades. This started in earnest around the middle 1970’s, increased substantially in the 1980’s, and continues to rise in a crescendo today. The fight against this identity theft has been mostly left to American Indian activists scattered around the country, without tribal backing of any note.
“Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality” passed at the Lakota Summit V in 1993 was a worthy attempt at addressing the multitudes of problems caused by exploiters, wannabes, and New Agers. But it soon was attacked by a cacophony by protestors, and with lack of tribal support fell into the dust bin of history.
Taking a leap light years ahead of other tribes, in 2001 the Tribal Council of the Caddo Nation in Binger, Oklahoma, took an unprecedented and valorous step to protect the Tribe and it’s members from identity theft. The Council passed a resolution to “protect for the Caddo Nation the proprietary ownership of it’s name, it’s cultural/tribal history and to protect the Tribe from illegal or unauthorized usage or sale of any written compositions, books or products that have been derived from any association, both known or unknown, with the Caddo Nation, it’s Tribal programs or it’s Tribal membership”.
Unlike many resolutions of all kinds, the Caddo meant for their resolution to actually have teeth to help the Nation. Nor did they put the resolution on the back shelf and forget about it. These teeth were bared in November of 2007 when the Nation addressed a Louisiana state recognized “tribe” calling itself the “Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana”.
The 7 November letter to Mr. Rufus Davis, “Chief” of the “Adai Caddo” points out “Your Louisiana state recognition is based in part in that you and your tribe believe you are also “Caddo.” The letter then continues to describe the fallacy of that claim. Davis is further warned:
“You are hereby notified by the Caddo Nation Tribal Council (representatives of the federally recognized tribal government) that you should immediately cease and desist use of the federally recognized name “Caddo” in any and all of your media communications, including, Internet websites, advertising and marketing correspondences or other communicative correspondences to further the recognition of the Adai at either state or federal levels and as such, you shall from this time forward stop using the name “Caddo” in any further correspondence in regard to the “Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana”.
“Should you continue using the name CADDO, a federally recognized name used only by the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, we will have no choice but to pursue legal remedies to the fullest extent available to us.“
Resounding Kudos to the Caddo Nation! If other Nations and Tribes would follow suit and become as active in protecting themselves from identity theft, perhaps the continued existence of the American Indian peoples might have some chance after all.
As with other states, it should be noted that Louisiana has not one iota of criteria for recognizing an Indian tribe. Any group can become a tribe merely by passage of concurrent resolutions in the State House and Senate. No proof of Indian identity or previous existence is required. Once again, large amounts of Federal Indian monies are diverted to support newly created “Indians”.
No study of the “Adai Caddo” organization would be complete without looking at their “ Adai Caddo Indian Nation Cultural Center”, which opened in July, 2004 - complete with teepees. The “Adai Caddo artifacts” contained in the Center are just as interesting. From the appearance of these “artifacts” I suspect that Mr. Davis or some his organizational members spent more than a few dollars on junk Indian crafts on E-bay.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tennessee Senate Bill 3123 Update
Tennessee Senate Bill 3123 mentioned in the pervious post on Tennessee’s state recognition of tribes failed to pass the State & Local Government Committee vote yesterday, 15 April. Senators voting aye for the bill were Tim Burchett and Joe Haynes. Burchett was the primary sponsor of the Senate Bill. Senators voting against the bill were Steve Roller and Bo Watson. There were three Senators present who did not vote, Lowe Finney, Bill Ketron, and Mark Norris.
The failure to pass is notable since Representative Vaughn was given a lengthy period during a recess that was provided to him for defense of the Bill. Community members watching the televised session were quick to point out numerous inconstancies in his statements as they pertained to the Bill.
This effectively killed the Bill for this year, as it did not make it out of the Committee. As a result, the House version of the Bill that had been created by Representative Nathan Vaughn was taken off of the House calendar on 16 April.
Given the continued past attempts of some of the fabricated “tribes” to gain recognition by hook or crook, I doubt that it will be too long before similar bills are introduced. If nothing else, we can look forward to having the same Bills introduced next year.
The failure to pass is notable since Representative Vaughn was given a lengthy period during a recess that was provided to him for defense of the Bill. Community members watching the televised session were quick to point out numerous inconstancies in his statements as they pertained to the Bill.
This effectively killed the Bill for this year, as it did not make it out of the Committee. As a result, the House version of the Bill that had been created by Representative Nathan Vaughn was taken off of the House calendar on 16 April.
Given the continued past attempts of some of the fabricated “tribes” to gain recognition by hook or crook, I doubt that it will be too long before similar bills are introduced. If nothing else, we can look forward to having the same Bills introduced next year.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Italian Politics And The American Indian
The “Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania”, short name “Lega Nord”, was founded as a federation of eight regional political parties of Northern and Central Italy in 1991. The party advocates autonomy from Rome for regions in Northern Italy, which was called “Padania“ by early geographers. Led by ex-Communist Umberto Bossi, one of the major platforms of Lega Nord is immigration policies.
According to official 2005 Italian statistics, 2,400,000 foreign residents are living in Italy. Of this number of legal foreign residents, 820,000 are Muslim. Added to this are Muslims who make up the estimated 40% of total illegal immigrants. At least one source quotes that Islam, although not officially recognized by the State, has become the second largest religion - next to Roman Catholicism. Other immigrants come from Albania, Morocco, Romania, Moldavia, and Ukraine.
The purpose of the above information is to give just a very small background. My major comment is not to endorse or refute any policy of an Italian political party. It is to address the unmitigated and detestable audacity that Lega Nord has shown in pressing it’s agenda by using American Indian history.
Lega Nord has dared to compare the current situation as they see it in Italy with the destruction of the indigenous population of North America by the violence and chicanery committed by the masses of European immigrants who rolled over the land.
Following are two examples of posters and large billboards used by the Lega Nord.
This reads “INDIANS COULDN’T STOP THE INVASION - Do you think that you are as strong as Indians are? - Do you think that you can survive on a Reservation? - VOTE FOR THE NORTHERN LEAGUE”
This billboard is from the Lega Dei Ticinesi, in the Italian portion of Switzerland.
The first day of the two day Italian election period is being held as I write this today, 13 April. Unfortunately, it is too late for American Indians to make a formal protest to the Lega Nord or Italian people about this misuse of our history. It’s not too late to let our position be known in order to hopefully prevent future travesties of this magnitude.
Any comments on the inappropriate use of American Indian history by the Lega Nord will be passed to appropriate friends in Italy so that the political party and it’s supporters are denounced for their actions. Lega Nord should be able to present their positions without the shameful exploitation of the American Indian.
According to official 2005 Italian statistics, 2,400,000 foreign residents are living in Italy. Of this number of legal foreign residents, 820,000 are Muslim. Added to this are Muslims who make up the estimated 40% of total illegal immigrants. At least one source quotes that Islam, although not officially recognized by the State, has become the second largest religion - next to Roman Catholicism. Other immigrants come from Albania, Morocco, Romania, Moldavia, and Ukraine.
The purpose of the above information is to give just a very small background. My major comment is not to endorse or refute any policy of an Italian political party. It is to address the unmitigated and detestable audacity that Lega Nord has shown in pressing it’s agenda by using American Indian history.
Lega Nord has dared to compare the current situation as they see it in Italy with the destruction of the indigenous population of North America by the violence and chicanery committed by the masses of European immigrants who rolled over the land.
Following are two examples of posters and large billboards used by the Lega Nord.
This reads “INDIANS COULDN’T STOP THE INVASION - Do you think that you are as strong as Indians are? - Do you think that you can survive on a Reservation? - VOTE FOR THE NORTHERN LEAGUE”
This billboard is from the Lega Dei Ticinesi, in the Italian portion of Switzerland.
The first day of the two day Italian election period is being held as I write this today, 13 April. Unfortunately, it is too late for American Indians to make a formal protest to the Lega Nord or Italian people about this misuse of our history. It’s not too late to let our position be known in order to hopefully prevent future travesties of this magnitude.
Any comments on the inappropriate use of American Indian history by the Lega Nord will be passed to appropriate friends in Italy so that the political party and it’s supporters are denounced for their actions. Lega Nord should be able to present their positions without the shameful exploitation of the American Indian.
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