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Show ttwfcf, Ilf XI, 1974 Hm Ute Solatia Utah AIM Leader Hospitalized After S.D. Courtroom Eruption SIOUX PALLS, 8.D. (AIPA) The trial of five defendants, inrinHinf four Indiana, arreated on riot charges in connection with an incident in Custer, S.D., during February of 1973 wfiD resume lure May 14. Trial Judge Joseph Bottum ordered on May 3 that the trial of defendent David Hill (Choctaw) be severed from the trial of the four others because of injuries suffered by Hill during a clash between Indians and police at the Minnehaha County Courthouse on April SO. According to a spokesman from the Wounded Knee Legal DefenseOfiense Committee (WKLDOC), Judge Bottum also stated that he may consider a motion to remove himself from the trial. Bottum has been criticized by defense lawyers and officials of the American Indian Movement (AIM) for maintaining what they have described as political, racial and movement overtimes" in his conduct of the proceedings. The judge has previously denied one motion which his removal. Violence erupted in the courtroom on the morning of April 80 after defendents and AIM sympathizers refused to stand during Bottom's entrance. Hie judge then ordered spectators and defendents Ute Student to Receive Degree house. Arrested at the scene by police were Dewey Dubray, Curtis Bald Eagle, Bill Flood, and Ted Means. Three others, including AIM interna tional coordinator Vernon Bellcourt, were subsequently arrested and arraign ed on charges stemming from the incident. A warrant for the arrest of AIM leader Russell Means has also been issued in connection with the melee. Means is currently being tried in the Wounded Knee trials in Minmapnlii on conspiracy charges. A grand jury has been called in Sioux Falls to consider other possible charges arising from the incident. two-yea- The trial of Indians facing charges in the Wounded Knee occupation began here May 6. MAw Gilbert, Lorelei Means, and Tonia Ackerman faced trial in federal court on' charges of burglary and larceny. Charges against six other defendents in Wounded Knee related charges were dismissed, Nearly 120 Indians and AIM sympathi-requeste- d zers have yet to be tried on charges stemming from the occupation, non-conspira- cy RECEIVING TRAINING - At the Natienal Indian Felice Academy la Brigham Ctty, Utah, IsUteLsw Officer Carles Reed. He will train .on the Eer Indian Groups Unite To to rise. The Indians and their sympathizers sat the room for one hour until the arrival of 24 members of the South Dakota Tactical Squad. According to a report from one Indian newsman present at the trial, the defendent HOI stood to face the riot squad and was struck by one of the A fight ensued between riot police and Indians. Three Indians and two policemen were injured and taken to a hospital. The WKLDOC office in Sioux Falls reported on May 8 that defendent David - HOI. was still hsopitalixed for treatnient of eye injuries received in the scuffle and that specialists feared he may lose his vision in the damaged eye. Following the incident in the courtroom, nearly 100 AIM sympathizers began breaking windows at the court- five-minu- te - -- OnPO Nrnn aQTir rVPP OlsIlUIGoUl LALCIICIIbC Three Ute college students, Kathleen Chegup, Eldora Perank and Robert Murphy, attained scholastic averages of B or better during the winter quarter at their respective schools. Kathleen, daughter of Mrs. Bernice Cesspooch and John Chegup, ia a senior at Che University of Utah majoring in sociology. A sophomore at Utah State University, Eldora is the daughter of Mrs. Nettie Perank. She is also majoring in Sociology. Robert is a junior at Eastern Oregon College in Atlanta, Ore. Knae Tqws text? Federal District Court Judge Fred Nichol, who is presiding over the first of the Wounded Knee conspiracy trials in St. Paul, Minn., has signed a subpoena ordering President Richard M. Nixonor his authorized representative to furnish any recorded tapes related to the Wounded Knee takeover last year, lasting from Feb. 27 to May 8, while the secret White House taping system was inplace. The White House must respond by May 28. The potential information was requested by defense' attorneys as relevant to the case. Counsel to the President Fred Buzhardt ' is administering tapes for the President, and the Justice Department will likely be middle man in the affair. The rubric of executive privilege" may be invoked in the case. J Protest Navajo Murders Surfacing again in the climate of concern over the Farmington and Gallup .slayings was the question of interracial 'relationships in both towns. The town of" Farmington is located on the north wes-ter- n comer of New Mexico, with at population of 21,979 near the Four Corners area of Indian country. The town has a number of Indian people firing here who are employed or who own smidl businesses. Other Indian people, from, nearby puts of Indian country, come to town to shop and do business from the Navajo, Ute Mountain, policemen. . the the investigation. in Students Cited For Azalea Arkansas Bradley of Cherokee, N.C. will receive the aseodate degree business administration from Southwestern Technical Institute at Sylva, N.C. during the commencement excerses this summer. . Mrs. Bradley will enter Appalachian State University at Boone According to information received from STI recently. She will enroll in ABUS of technology program which is a relatively new program designed especially for r instituqualified graduates of tions. While at Southwestern Tech. Mrs. Bradley has been darned fly to the Dean's List as well as being named friendliest giri" in the yearbook selections. She attends STI on a Ute tribal scholarship. Mrs. Bnulley is the daughter of Mrs. Kate Arkansas of Cherokee and the late Phillip Arkansas who was formerly from the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Formal charges were brought Apr. 80 against the Farmington youths who had earlier provided full confessions. The two older boys were then taken to the Albuquerque Detention Center in Albuquerque for mental evaluations. The younger youth was held here in Farmington. On May 24, a motion will be heard in court to determine whether the two older boys will be brought to court in adult court. The younger boy, a juvenile under New Mexico law, must be tried in juvenile court under closed hearings. Under a recent law enacted by the New Mexico state legislature, the maximum penalty for first degree murder is death. Two Navajo men were found Apr. 21 north of Farmington, and a third body was found a week later. The remains of the men showed that their heads had been crushed and their bodies partially burned. Dead were David Ignacio, 52, Huersano, N.M.; Herman Dodge Benally, 84, Kirtland; and John Earl Harvey, 89, Fruitiand. Said Asst. District Attorney Bryan Caton of the slayings: I dont think well ever know the motives. These were senseless killings. As near as I can tell, there was no provocation." New Mexico authorities, meanwhile, were investigating possible links to the deaths of three' other Navajo men last year, whose similarly mutilrted bodies were discovered north of Gallup in the vicinity of Gamerco, N.M. Authorities said they believed there was some Southern Ute and Jicarilla Apache reservations. Indians also come for recreation in the likes of rodeos, movies, swimming, bowling, dancing and basketball games. In Farmington, most Indian residents five in the south section of town. In Gallup, Indian residents and shoppers are largely Navajo. Gallup itself has a population of nearly 14,000 with perhaps one quarter Indian residents. On Apr. 80, the first of a series of. planned protests against the deaths and alleged racial discrimination endured was held in Farmington. About 8,000 Indians marched in protest, led by the Indians Against Exploitation (IAE), American Indian Movement (AIM), National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), University of New Mexico Kiva Club, Dine Coalition, Farmington Intertribal Indian Organization, and the Brown Berets, a Chicano group. Marchers . . by-India- -- branded the slayings as racially motivated and called upon area police to connection between the Farmington deaths and the earlier beating deaths in May of 1973 of Kee Emerson Jones, 54, George Dennison, 47, and Gilbert Saunders, 26, all Navajos. The Farmington mayor sent his written concern to the Navajo Tribe expressing outraged concern and deep sympathy to the Navajo people over the slayings, saying the entire community is shocked by the abhors this senseless brutality.. Navajo Chairman Peter : MacDonald responded to the mayor assuring him that the proper law enforcement officials would cooperate in . investigate with utmost priority. According to a Kiva Club spokesman: While we do not advocate violence, we request that the state of New Mexico treat the brutal and senseless murders in Farmington and Gallup with utmost priority AIMs Ken Teyketewa also called for an immediate investigation of the deaths and vowed support and unity with all Indian groups to deal with the problems. Said John Redhouse, a Navajo and member of Indian Against Exploitation: For years it has been almost a sport, a sort of sick, perverted tradition among Anglo youth of Farmington High School, to go into the Indian section of town and physically assault and rob elderly and somtimes intoxicated Navajo men and women of whatever possessions they had, for no apparent reason other than that they were Indians. Yet there have been too few arrests and charges brought against these Anglo renegades by the Farmington Police Dept. Far too many times the police have been ineffective and insensitive to the many complaints expressed by our people." - Gerald Wilkinson, executive director of NIYC, asked that the investigation into the slayings be given top priority, that New Mexico Atty. Gen. David Norvefl personally take charge of the investigation, that Navajo Police be allowed to ' participate in the probe, and that once apprehended the accused slayers quickly be brought to judgement. An AIM camp, meanwhile, was set up ' about 27 miles west of Farmington at Shiproek on the Navajo Nation. AIM Treasurer Lary Anderson, a Navajo, was placed in charge of the camp as well as organizing area Indians to protest the killings. Anderson said relatives of the slain men had invited AIM to establish the camp there. On Saturday, May 4, another protest march was staged in Farmington. About 8,000 Indians again marched in silent protest in memory of the three slain Navajos, with the same march sponsors as earlier. Marchers stretching approximately nine blocks marched for about an hour. After the march, relatives of the slain men made remarks in the Navajo tongue and thanked the marchs sponsors for their support. Followup protests were planned to include Navajo people in the Farmington municipal government, the police force, and related agencies. A May 10 seminar was also planned by the Farmington Intertribal Indian Organization to deal specifically with racial problems here in Farmington. Oneidas Set Precedent On Claims Settlement The Oneidas of Wisconsin voted Apr. 28 to maintain $1 million for development purposes from a 1967 claims settlement of $1,171,248. Per capita distribution from the balance of the money, and the interest earned from the milium dollar fund, will be made to 20 different age groups of tribal members over a period. Tribal members over the age of 59 will recieve payments of $176.05 in 1974. Other members of the tribe will receive the same amount, plus six percent interest annually, in annual payments to successively younger age groups until 1993. The $1 million fund will remain intact and build equity, serving as leverage capital for various types of tribal development. An Oneida spokesman, Norbert Hill, said the tribe hoped to set a precedent for encourageing other tribes to establish funds from settlement wards rather than to opt for full and immediate per capita distribution. 20-ye- ar |