8-17-10
To: Mr. Shannon Augare, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council
From: Bob Juneau, researcher of Blackfeet claims
Subject: Background of claims and forward resolution of claims to Congress
Intergenerational Blackfeet Posttraumatic Stress Disorders Traumas
Montana Border-White Genocide and Indian Removal Traumas
By Bob Juneau
History of Indian-White relations in the United States: In the Federalist Papers, John Jay stated “Not a single Indian War has yet been produced by aggressions of the present federal government, feeble as it is; but there are several instances of Indian hostilities having been provoked by the improper conduct of individual states, who either unable or unwilling to restrain or punish offenses, have given occasion to the slaughter of many innocent [Indian] habitants.” President Grant cited the Montana border-whites as the single biggest obstacle to the civilization of the Indians in Montana Territory, and the Board of Indian Commissioners appointed by President Grant cited the Montana border-whites as robbers, murderers, and thieves of Indian property. The Massacre of Heavy Runner’s band by the army was provoked by Montana Territorial Governor Meagher for the purpose of exterminating the Blackfeet Indians and bringing Irish immigrants to settle their lands. There has been no official recognition of the treaty violations and land frauds stemming from the early days of Blackfeet-white relations.
Discussion: The Blackfeet Indians have not had any treatment or payment for the historical traumas induced by the Montana Territory Indian Extermination Policy carried out by the Montana border-white emigrant’s invasion of Blackfoot Confederacy lands. The Blackfeet Indians have been under constant attack for generations by Montana border-whites and the impact and shock of those traumas is still with us today. The evidence shows the Blackfeet Indians paid the social and economic costs for the border-whites expansion into Blackfoot Confederacy lands held by treaty with the United States. There is ample evidence of the direct negative impact of the Montana border-white invasion of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the unfulfilled treaty promises of Congress in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five.
The choice offered to the Blackfeet people over generations is either to capitulate to the Montana border-whites [accept white rule on the Blackfeet reservation] or to face extermination of Blackfeet life and soul. The goals of the Territory and State of Montana have been met although at the expense and misery of the Blackfeet Indians. The treaty goals of the United States and the Blackfeet Tribe do not have equitable standing with the illegal benefits accruing to the Territory and State of Montana’s illegal occupancy of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The treaty goals of the 1896 Agreement/Article Five were promised but never delivered. Our mission today is to complete the goals of the 1888 Treaty and 1896 Agreement.
THE DISAPPEARING SOVEREIGNTY OF THE BLACKFEET NATION
The lack of resolution of repressed tribal historical treaty issues are continuously manifested in the Blackfeet people in symptoms that require some type of medication even today. If the person does not medicate himself, then the only defense left in the light of pain is disassociation. The person no longer has an awareness of who or where he is, thus rendering the treaty issues non-existent. We then get the passive tribal leadership that reflects the behaviors of a defeated people with no hope for the future.
The failure of tribal leadership over the past 30 years since 1980, when the claims were rejected by the tribal council, to actively support and pursue justice for the hundreds of Blackfeet Allottees who were victims of massive land frauds [forced patents] conducted by the Interior Department and state/county governments, leaves their Blackfeet heirs in doubt and uncertain about their treaty rights and role on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
LEGAL AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS TO RESOLVE CLAIMS
The Blackfeet Indian Reservation has lost roughly one-third of its land base to the land frauds and the Blackfeet Indians have been made the victims of federal water development projects on the Blackfeet Reservation for the benefit of state citizens. The history of the land frauds is a tragedy from which the Blackfeet Tribe has not recovered. The Blackfeet Indians can demonstrate explicit treaty language in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five that guaranteed them special treaty rights to develop the reservation lands for the exclusive use and benefit of Blackfeet cattle ranchers and the Blackfeet cattle industry. The evidence in the construction of the St. Mary-Milk Rivers Diversion by the BIA Reclamation Service points to the fact that gross and fundamental injustices were done to the cattle ranchers and the landowners. The issue of institutional equity would seem to indicate some sort of settlement for the Blackfeet landowners and Blackfeet cattle ranchers.
The neglect of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and the Congress of the United States to address the issue of institutional equity in the federal reclamation projects and state encroachment on the reservation resulting in loss of Blackfeet allotments will effectively close the last opportunity the Blackfeet Tribe and Blackfeet Indians will have to rebuild the tribal economy destroyed by the St. Mary-Milk Rivers Diversion of reservation waters to state citizens and the forced fee patents conspiracies and other tribal claims that resulted in the loss of nearly one-third of the reservation land base reserved for the exclusive use and occupancy of the Blackfeet Indians. Congress and the Interior Department are clearly guilty of abdicating trust responsibilities to the Blackfeet Tribe and Blackfeet Allottees, and what has unjustly been stolen from the Blackfeet Indians must be restored to bring the tribe to their former social and economic status as self-sufficient cattle ranchers recognized in the 1896 Agreement.
Project needs: tribal council resolution requesting a Senate Indian Affairs Committee legislative solution to the Blackfeet claims-tribal and allotted. It will be necessary to conduct tribal council hearings on the forced fee patents, and other tribal claims and to organize and document tribal oral history of the claims. It will be necessary to retrieve documents such as Congressional Hearings on the subject and information on tribal cattle ranchers and forced patents at the Federal Records Center in Englewood Colorado [list of 500 tribal brands dating back to 1893 recognized as successful ranchers for claims purposes]. It will be necessary to contract the services of natural resources economists to calculate the losses of Blackfeet cattle, land, oil, gas, coal, timber, gravel, and other losses as needed, to formulate a “valuation theory” for the Blackfeet Tribe and tribal members losses. Anthropology experts will be needed to assess the damages to the social fabric of the tribe caused by the Montana border-whites invasion of the reservation and the failure of federal trust responsibility to protect and carry out treaty goals and provisions. We will need testimony from tribal members on the rebuilding of the reservation in the tribal image and their vision of a “settled” Blackfeet Indian Reservation. We have the evidence on hand of land frauds and government corruption in the forced fee patents etc.
Budget: research hours and travel to retrieve documents. We may be able to get experts from the University to conduct the studies on natural resources losses and anthropological studies of tribal member’s pain and suffering. I have no expectations that the tribal council will help us financially, so we will keep doing what we can with our own expenses to keep the claims alive.
To: Mr. Shannon Augare, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council
From: Bob Juneau, researcher of Blackfeet claims
Subject: Background of claims and forward resolution of claims to Congress
Intergenerational Blackfeet Posttraumatic Stress Disorders Traumas
Montana Border-White Genocide and Indian Removal Traumas
By Bob Juneau
History of Indian-White relations in the United States: In the Federalist Papers, John Jay stated “Not a single Indian War has yet been produced by aggressions of the present federal government, feeble as it is; but there are several instances of Indian hostilities having been provoked by the improper conduct of individual states, who either unable or unwilling to restrain or punish offenses, have given occasion to the slaughter of many innocent [Indian] habitants.” President Grant cited the Montana border-whites as the single biggest obstacle to the civilization of the Indians in Montana Territory, and the Board of Indian Commissioners appointed by President Grant cited the Montana border-whites as robbers, murderers, and thieves of Indian property. The Massacre of Heavy Runner’s band by the army was provoked by Montana Territorial Governor Meagher for the purpose of exterminating the Blackfeet Indians and bringing Irish immigrants to settle their lands. There has been no official recognition of the treaty violations and land frauds stemming from the early days of Blackfeet-white relations.
Discussion: The Blackfeet Indians have not had any treatment or payment for the historical traumas induced by the Montana Territory Indian Extermination Policy carried out by the Montana border-white emigrant’s invasion of Blackfoot Confederacy lands. The Blackfeet Indians have been under constant attack for generations by Montana border-whites and the impact and shock of those traumas is still with us today. The evidence shows the Blackfeet Indians paid the social and economic costs for the border-whites expansion into Blackfoot Confederacy lands held by treaty with the United States. There is ample evidence of the direct negative impact of the Montana border-white invasion of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and the unfulfilled treaty promises of Congress in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five.
The choice offered to the Blackfeet people over generations is either to capitulate to the Montana border-whites [accept white rule on the Blackfeet reservation] or to face extermination of Blackfeet life and soul. The goals of the Territory and State of Montana have been met although at the expense and misery of the Blackfeet Indians. The treaty goals of the United States and the Blackfeet Tribe do not have equitable standing with the illegal benefits accruing to the Territory and State of Montana’s illegal occupancy of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The treaty goals of the 1896 Agreement/Article Five were promised but never delivered. Our mission today is to complete the goals of the 1888 Treaty and 1896 Agreement.
THE DISAPPEARING SOVEREIGNTY OF THE BLACKFEET NATION
The lack of resolution of repressed tribal historical treaty issues are continuously manifested in the Blackfeet people in symptoms that require some type of medication even today. If the person does not medicate himself, then the only defense left in the light of pain is disassociation. The person no longer has an awareness of who or where he is, thus rendering the treaty issues non-existent. We then get the passive tribal leadership that reflects the behaviors of a defeated people with no hope for the future.
The failure of tribal leadership over the past 30 years since 1980, when the claims were rejected by the tribal council, to actively support and pursue justice for the hundreds of Blackfeet Allottees who were victims of massive land frauds [forced patents] conducted by the Interior Department and state/county governments, leaves their Blackfeet heirs in doubt and uncertain about their treaty rights and role on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
LEGAL AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS TO RESOLVE CLAIMS
The Blackfeet Indian Reservation has lost roughly one-third of its land base to the land frauds and the Blackfeet Indians have been made the victims of federal water development projects on the Blackfeet Reservation for the benefit of state citizens. The history of the land frauds is a tragedy from which the Blackfeet Tribe has not recovered. The Blackfeet Indians can demonstrate explicit treaty language in the 1896 Agreement/Article Five that guaranteed them special treaty rights to develop the reservation lands for the exclusive use and benefit of Blackfeet cattle ranchers and the Blackfeet cattle industry. The evidence in the construction of the St. Mary-Milk Rivers Diversion by the BIA Reclamation Service points to the fact that gross and fundamental injustices were done to the cattle ranchers and the landowners. The issue of institutional equity would seem to indicate some sort of settlement for the Blackfeet landowners and Blackfeet cattle ranchers.
The neglect of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and the Congress of the United States to address the issue of institutional equity in the federal reclamation projects and state encroachment on the reservation resulting in loss of Blackfeet allotments will effectively close the last opportunity the Blackfeet Tribe and Blackfeet Indians will have to rebuild the tribal economy destroyed by the St. Mary-Milk Rivers Diversion of reservation waters to state citizens and the forced fee patents conspiracies and other tribal claims that resulted in the loss of nearly one-third of the reservation land base reserved for the exclusive use and occupancy of the Blackfeet Indians. Congress and the Interior Department are clearly guilty of abdicating trust responsibilities to the Blackfeet Tribe and Blackfeet Allottees, and what has unjustly been stolen from the Blackfeet Indians must be restored to bring the tribe to their former social and economic status as self-sufficient cattle ranchers recognized in the 1896 Agreement.
Project needs: tribal council resolution requesting a Senate Indian Affairs Committee legislative solution to the Blackfeet claims-tribal and allotted. It will be necessary to conduct tribal council hearings on the forced fee patents, and other tribal claims and to organize and document tribal oral history of the claims. It will be necessary to retrieve documents such as Congressional Hearings on the subject and information on tribal cattle ranchers and forced patents at the Federal Records Center in Englewood Colorado [list of 500 tribal brands dating back to 1893 recognized as successful ranchers for claims purposes]. It will be necessary to contract the services of natural resources economists to calculate the losses of Blackfeet cattle, land, oil, gas, coal, timber, gravel, and other losses as needed, to formulate a “valuation theory” for the Blackfeet Tribe and tribal members losses. Anthropology experts will be needed to assess the damages to the social fabric of the tribe caused by the Montana border-whites invasion of the reservation and the failure of federal trust responsibility to protect and carry out treaty goals and provisions. We will need testimony from tribal members on the rebuilding of the reservation in the tribal image and their vision of a “settled” Blackfeet Indian Reservation. We have the evidence on hand of land frauds and government corruption in the forced fee patents etc.
Budget: research hours and travel to retrieve documents. We may be able to get experts from the University to conduct the studies on natural resources losses and anthropological studies of tribal member’s pain and suffering. I have no expectations that the tribal council will help us financially, so we will keep doing what we can with our own expenses to keep the claims alive.
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