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Wepunkwteme

Your Help is Needed In This Matter!
Please pass this letter to Everyone You know and
to Every Yahoo, MSN & AOL Native Group you can
think of as well as www.powwows.com

There is a New Bill #SB420 being presented for a Vote
in the Virginia State Legislature.
This bill attempts to circumvent ongoing litigation, the public
regulatory process and decades of scientific & public opposition
from both Native and Non-Native Peoples to the King William
Reservoir Project. If this bill passes, irreparable harm will be done
to Virginia Wetlands, Wildlife and the future of the Mattaponi and
Pamunkey Peoples. As well as breaking the Oldest Treaties written
with any American Indian Tribes and the Virginia regulatory process
itself. This Dam and Resivoir will flood existing Traditional Tribal
Lands held Sacred and Protected by Treaty since the First English
Settlers arrived.
Below is the Letter I sent to All of Virginia's State Legislators.
I Urge You To Do The Same!


Subject:Mattaponi and the Proposed Building of King William Reservoir


Dear Elected Representative,
The City of Newport News continues to
misrepresent the facts on the King William Reservoir issue. After
16 years of effort, the City's attempts to secure all of the
necessary permits have failed. The Institute of Water Studies, and
the earlier Phillips and two Spiegle-Muller reports all reach the
same conclusion-"Newport News does not need this water".
Each year, the governors of Virginia publicly accept the tribute
of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Indian Tribes as per their treaty. By
doing so-they have acknowledged the treaty as being a valid legal
document. In the treaty, the Mattaponi have treaty protected
fishing and gathering rights which would be violated by the
waterworks. This project threatens the way of life of the Mattaponi
Native American population.
A significant part of the area contains many archeological sites
important to the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes - villages, camping
sites, burial grounds and the ISLAND where Chief Opechanacanough
lived and ruled for many decades. As well as those sites of our
European ancestors are treated with great respect and concern.
The same respect and concern should be granted to these-they are not only a
part of the history of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey-but also a great
part of the history of the first settlers.
Independent scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine
Science and VMRC staff found that the project will jeopardize
restoration of the tenuous Chesapeake Bay American shad population.
The water intake will be constructed in the most significant
breading and rearing areas of the American Shad in the entire state
of Virginia. The reservoir will flood populations of threatened
plants, such as the federally threatened plant, the small-Whorled
Pogonia and the sensitive Joint-Vetch and also flood bald eagle
habitat. The need for recreational facilities does not outweigh the
loss of plant and animal life indigenous to this area.
The National Research Council reviewed hundreds of mitigation
projects and reported many were never even started, others weren't
completed and those that were finished failed 83% of the time. Ohio
is just one of many states that have lost 90% of its wetlands.
Studies have also concluded that replacement wetlands are NOT
equivalent to the natural wetlands they are to substitute for.
Again, the need for recreational facilities does not outweigh the
loss of plant and animal life indigenous to this area or breaking
of Treaties with the Original Peoples of this land.
As a tax-paying citizen of the United States of America I ask the
State of Virginia lawmakers set aside the 1500 acres of land the
Reservoir would flood along with the 1,089 acres of upland the Reservoir
would impact as "State Protected Land" in order to insure the habitat
and continuity of all the species found there and ask that the State
prevent any future agricultural, residential or reservoir development
from ever occuring upon this land.
I also request that the State of Virginia make a permanent
arrangement to ensure the protection and observance of the treaty,
and to ensure that the fishing and gathering rights of the Mattaponi
be observed, honored and protected for ALL TIME.
The General Assembly's chief responsibilities are to represent
citizens in the formulation of public policy.

Sincerely,
Thomas Greywolf Atkins
Chickahominy/Mattaponi/U.S.Citizen
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/American_Indian_Injustice

This Letter was sent to the
Following E-Mail Addresses;
I Urge You To Do The Same!
Thank You!


Virginia Officials: mark.warner@governor.virginia.gov mail@oag.state.va.us
tkaine@ltgov.state.va.us district22@sov.state.va.us district14@sov.state.va.us
district04@sov.state.va.us district28@sov.state.va.us district29@sov.state.va.us
district37@sov.state.va.us district25@sov.state.va.us district34@sov.state.va.us
district21@sov.state.va.us district24@sov.state.va.us district19@sov.state.va.us
district17@sov.state.va.us district32@sov.state.va.us district09@sov.state.va.us
district02@sov.state.va.us district18@sov.state.va.us district16@sov.state.va.us
district11@sov.state.va.us district05@sov.state.va.us district03@sov.state.va.us
district33@sov.state.va.us district23@sov.state.va.us district39@sov.state.va.us
district26@sov.state.va.us district27@sov.state.va.us district38@sov.state.va.us


Media: info@ap.org nationalnews@herald.com investigations@herald.com
national@latimes.com sam@okit.com lizg@okit.com indianz@indianz.com
cshaw@nypost.com editor@indiancountry.com abramowitz@washpost.com
barkinr@washpost.com mike.adams@baltsun.com kevin.cowherd@baltsun.com
pmilton@patuxent.com skelly@patuxent.com jimlee@lcniofmd.com
carriem@lcniofmd.com












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T. Jude Fox

Sadly This Is Happening In Every State! Every Rez Has Bills Pending In One Stage Or Another With The Potential To Abolish Indian Status. Policitians Are Have Been Trying For Years To Abolish The Bia, Ihs And Oiep As Well As Rez's And Cib's.

So We Need People To Band Together And Get Informed, Get Educated And Fight For What We Are Still Owed And Keep What We Have Now.

Honestly.

__________________
...jus put on Mandareeeee....