Another response to Hopis vs. Big Mountain Trespassers:

Rob replies
Eloquently put, friend. But of course I have a response:

>> Is the "American Way", the way of our ancestors? <<

Whose ancestors are we talking about? Mine are pure WASPs, as far as I know.

I agree it's the Euro-American way to despoil our land. Affirming Hopi sovereignty over Hopi land will curtail the Navajo habit of overgrazing it.

>> The government is the system that oppresses and steals and lies to the original people who was living here. <<

The original people are the Hopi, who predated the Navajo by hundreds if not thousands of years. You do know that, don't you? Why won't a single Big Mountain supporter either admit this fact or do the impossible and refute it?

>> No one owns the land, we belong to it, we are the caretakers of our Mother. <<

The Hopi chiefs said, "No, we don't have to have an agreement. This is our land. Always was our land." (As quoted by Albert Yava, who knew these 19th-century leaders personally, in his book Big Falling Snow.)

Perhaps no one can possess the land literally, but someone can have legal jurisdiction over it. That's exactly what the Hopi/Navajo dispute is about: who's sovereign in that particular location.

>> I see the people who live in the area, and have lived there for generations. <<

I've seen and spoken to the people who have lived there for millennia.

>> I also have seen the people who have fallen for the lies <<

If you hang out at Big Mountain, that goes without saying. <g>

>> Crazy Horse,Geronimo,Sitting Bull,Chief Joseph,Manuelito,Black Elk,Bigfoot,Chief Seattle <<

I suspect they'd agree with me, not you. One of the many fictions about Indians is that they had no concept of territorial rights. Some of these very leaders fought wars against both Anglos and other Indians for invading their land. Why would they do that if the land belonged to no one?

Indians weren't angels or saints
Here's an example of how some Indians were, not how you think they were:

So "the People" didn't live in a blissful Utopia. Like anyone else, they argued and fought and defended their homes against enemies. When the whites came, they shrewdly negotiated boundaries they could live within. It wasn't their fault the Anglos didn't understand the concept of property rights.

That's what the Hopi are still doing, to the best of their ability: defending their ancestral home against Johnny-come-latelies.

Perhaps the best example of my point is the infamous story of Indians selling Manhattan Island to the Dutch for $24. Although this story is probably wildly distorted, the underlying basis is clear. The Indians and the Dutch considered Manhattan a distinct territory from the neighboring areas. They entered into a commercial transaction over this territory. They assigned value to the land or its rights, negotiated a deal, and exchanged property (tangible or intangible) as a result.

>> There is no money <<

When Peter MacDonald was president of the Navajo Nation, he spent half a million dollars on a PR campaign to convince the world the Hopi were stealing their own land. There's money for you.

I guess you've never heard of wampum? Sorry, chum, your claim is flatly wrong. Not only did Indians have exchange or barter systems, but some societies used money and amassed wealth. The people of the Northwest and West coast, with their potlatches and dentalium shells, are perhaps the best examples.

>> There is no prisons
There is no orphans <<

And there aren't enough comic books!

The Northwest Indians used their money to buy wives and slaves, among other things. In fact, slavery wasn't uncommon among Indian people. Slavery is arguably worse than any prison systems.

How bad were they?
Some Indians were almost as bad as Europeans. Here's a quote explaining just how unsaintly they were:

None of this seems to fit your picture of a perfect paradise. As usual, reality is more complex than a one-dimensional stereotype.

>> We have a responsibility to the Creator, to remember the way <<

My comics and website are a testimonial to the Native American way(s). That includes acknowledging and protecting Hopi rights.

From your e-mail handle I gather you're Cree. Okay. Here's a thought experiment you or anyone (Native or not) can try at home:

Imagine a group of nomadic people. They move onto land you already occupy. They declare they're going to build condominiums—on the site of your church or shrine, on your best rangeland for cattle grazing, or in the parking lot of your government headquarters.

Question: Do you let them proceed? If your answer is yes, I applaud you for your consistency, if nothing else. Let me know where you live so I can move there and begin building.

Correspondent tries again
>> The system is hoping that if we are fighting each other we will be to busy to fight the system. We have to remember the path and teachings of Tecumseh. If we quit fighting among ourselves and band together, we will become a great force that the system will not be able to change. It is time to feel the spirit of Crazy Horse! It is time to fight this invading system of Turtle Island! It is time to remember our ancestors teachings! We have fallen into slumber with alcohol and drugs and fighting among ourselves. Claiming that the one has more rights then the other. We are just a strand in the web of life. Hoke Hey! <<

Um, not exactly a responsive answer. Remember what I said about the Big Mountain supporters' lack of specifics, evidence, or quotes? This is an excellent example.

"The system" is infringing on the sovereign right of the Hopi people to control their own land. That's exactly the system I'm fighting. Anyone who opposes this system should join the fight.

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