Onondaga Information - Archive
The following materials are ones I've
recieved via email, nothing has been altered or changed.
Kahn-Tineta Horn wrote:
>
> FROM: The Onondaga People
> DATE: March 3, 1998
> RE: The Destruction of the People’s Businesses
>
> On March 2, 1998 at 11:00 AM a mob of people
arrived at the Onondaga
> Nation People’s businesses and demanded
they close. After being
> refused, Chief Vincent Johnson signaled
a bulldozer to proceed to
> destroy the buildings. People were still
inside as this occurred, a few
> barely escaped as the structures collapsed.
Outside the frenzied mob
> severely beat some of the people who had
been inside. The remains of
> the bulldozed businesses, as well as thousands
of dollars worth of
> tobacco products were set afire. The Onondaga
People’s monthly
> disbursements were stolen.
> In the Haudenosaunee Gayanerekowa (The Great
Law) the rights and duties
> of the chiefs are described as follows:
>
> "The Chiefs of the Confederacy of the
Five Nations shall be mentors for
> the people for all time. Their hearts shall
be full of peace and good
> will and their minds filled with the yearning
for the welfare of the
> people of the Confederacy. Neither anger
nor fury shall find lodging in
> their minds, and all their words shall be
marked by calm deliberation."
> (Gayanerekowa, Article 24)
>
> The actions displayed yesterday were in
violation of our People’s law
> as well as a violation of basic civil rights.
> March 2nd was an encore performance of the
event that took place in
> 1994 - the burning of businesses led by
mob rule. This time the
> Onondaga County Sheriffs stood by as they
witnessed malicious
> destruction of property, attempted homicide,
theft and arson of several
> Onondaga People’s businesses. All this was
done in the name of
> recognizing internal sovereignty. In this
particular instance our right
> to settle our disputes required whatever
means were necessary. As
> stated to the media by Sheriff Kevin Walsh
on March 2, "The Chief’s
> Council were merely taking care of business."
> The fundamental question that any civilized
people must ask
> themselves: in the heart of democracy, where
can criminal acts of
> arson, attempted homicide and sheer terror
go unchallenged in full view
> of state and local police agencies? Why
are the country officials
> selectively enforcing who will and who will
not be protected and
> prosecuted?
> The truth here is that the Onondaga People
will never submit to the
> acts of extortion and betrayal of the Great
Law. There shall be no
> taxes or jurisdiction placed on the Haudenosaunee.
Although this act of
> violence was discouraging, it will not quell
the spirit of the knowledge
> of our rights as Onondaga People.
>
> The Onondaga People
> 315-638-4355 (235) Eloise
> 315-638-8421 (Fax)
> Email egior@aol.com
>
> Note: "They may have burnt our buildings
and our merchandise, and beat
> us up. But they have not dampened our spiritis.
We are opening our
> businesses again tomorrow, right next to
the People’s Fire off Route 81
> (near Syracuse New York), the scene of a
vicious attack on the People by
> the New York State Troopers on May 18th
1997.