Ted Kennedy and the Winnemem

As we all now know, Senator Ted Kennedy passed away. Why is this noteworthy to the Winnemem? Well, although he was from Massachusetts and had a past that was not all that stellar, he made up for it and served the country to the best of his ability.

He died due to a cancer in his brain I hear, and I wonder if the stem cell research he was talking about awhile back might have saved him? I don't know but I do know that of all the Senators in Washington, even including those from our state here of California, Mr. Kennedy, gave the Winnemem some of his time and encouragement.

Caleen and I met him at a dinner we attended and spoke to him about his brother Jack's visit to Redding for the dedication of Keswick Dam. We talked to him about Bobby's committment to Indian people while he was running for President in 1968. We talked to him about the broken promises made to the Winnemem and all California Tribal people and you know what? He listened, offered some suggestions and shared a laugh with us, not at our expense but from his heart.

We join those who knew him and respected him for his work in the Senate in expressing our condolences to his family: one that seems to have had its share of misfortune amidst the fortune it realized. We are sad that he has gone: as I said he, a man from the East Coast, took the time to meet with us and talk with us. Perhaps Senators Feinstein and Boxer will some day do the same.

Help the Winnemem Wintu - print and get signatures on this petition!

I was wondering about petitions and their value to people who need the government to act in a certain way. The Winnemem have tried many approaches to reach officials in government departments and bureaus that daily impact our lifeway and the environment we have been set here to protect. Thus far our pleas for assistance and justice have fallen on deaf ears (with the notable exception of Marin, California Assemblyman Jared Huffman who sponsored AJR 39 - the resolution asking the feds to restore our status as a sovereign nation).

Anyway, this California resolution was to be sent to the President, Congress and others for action. To this date we have not heard if it was sent or if it was received. I'm checking on this as you read this. My point, however, is this: would California Senators Feinstein and Boxer respond to an influx of letters calling for action or a number of petitions calling for them to follow the lead of their home states legislature and allow our restoration? Since neither of these two Senators will actually meet with us face to face, despite numerous requests and our travel to their offices in Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington DC, I wonder if this approach will wipe the sleep from their eyes so they can see us as we are, not as their aides and staffers portray us as being.

Okay, with all that, I have pasted (as I am new to this blogthing) a petition for your approval. If you can, print it, sign it with all your friends and send it off to Washington DC. Oh, and if you do, let me know so I can see if this works.

To Senator Diane Feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer

We the undersigned support the Winnemem Wintu struggle for justice. The California Legislature passed AJR 39, a joint resolution memorializing Congress to restore recognition to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. The next step to correct an historic wrong now goes to the Federal level. We ask that you, as Senators representing California, sponsor and support a bill for the restoration of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. Change the message relayed in 1852 which refused to honor the treaty this tribe signed in “peace and friendship” by restoring the basic human rights they have been fighting for over the past 156 years.

NAME (PRINTED) SIGNATURE ADDRESS