From Linda M. Brown - Mendota Community: (11/18/99)
Dear Friends, Today I spent the afternoon at the encampment, almost all the trees in the pow wow grounds have been cut, only about five are left and this is only because people are sitting in these trees. MNDOT continues with their get in and cut and get out again method. The pow wow grounds are only a short distance from the sacred trees. While I was there Jim and some of the other Native Americans met once again with police officials. They told them that they could not tell us exactly when they are going to come for the sacred trees, only that it will probably be between 2-3 weeks, and that it would be during the day. They told them anyone there at the time would be given the choice of leaving or getting arrested if they would not leave. Time grows short, if you have ever wanted to visit the site, you should make arrangements to come soon. This is going to happen at a time when the whole world celebrates peace and brotherhood. This is a holy time for everyone else, but apparently not for us. Last year they came for us only five days before the holiest day of the year for Christianity, and blundered and destroyed and brutalized, how do they live with themselves? We will continue with our vigil until the end, we have not given up this struggle. What they fail to understand is that this is sacred land, they may build their road, but that doesn't change the fact that the whole area is sacred. It will always be sacred. Nothing they do to it can change that. Someday the true story will be told of what happened here and the State of Minnesota and their officials will have to live with that and answer for that. Sorry I sound so down, but tomorrow is another day and will fight on.
Love Linda
Governer Jesse Ventura Phone: (651) 297-9500 State Capitol Building 75 Constitution Ave. St. Paul, MN 55155 mailto:Jesse.Ventura@state.mn.us Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg Phone: (651) 296-3000 Fax: (651) 296-3587 MNDOT 395 John Ireland Blvd St. Paul, MN 55155 Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton Phone: (612) 673-2100 350 S. 5th St. Minneapolis, MN 55415 U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone Phone: (202) 224-5641, fax (202) 224-8438 136 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington D.C. 20510 mailto:senator@wellstone.senate.gov Mr. Alan Steger Division Administrator FHWA Phone: (651) 291-6100 Sheryl Martin Galtier Plaza, Suite 500 175 E. 5th St. St Paul, MN 55101 Bruce Eberly Historic Preservatin Officer FHWA Phone: (202) 366-2060 C/O HEP -40, room 3240 Washington D.C. 20590 Ann Boland, National Register of Historic Preservation Dept of the Interior Phone (202) 343-9500 Box 37127 Washington D.C. 20013-7127 Bruce Babbit Secretary of the Interior Dept. of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington D.C. 20240 202208-7351 mailto:Bruce_Babbitt@IOS.DOI.GOV President William Clinton Phone: (202) 4565-1414 The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 MAILTO:President@whitehouse.gov Vice President Al Gore Phone: (202) 4565-1414 The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington DC, 20500 MAILTO:VicePresident@whitehouse.gov Janet Reno U.S. Attorney General Phone: (202) 737-5214 Justice Dept. 600 E. St. NW Washington,DC 20090
The Mendota are a non-profit organization and reciepts will be supplied for
those who request them. Send donations to:
Checks or money orders may be made payable to MMDC.
Mendota Medewakanton Dakota Community
PO Box 50835
Mendota, MN 55150
Contact numbers are Linda M. Brown - (612) 944-7290
FAX (612) 944-0105
or Bob Brown, Chairman - (612) 576-9686
FAX (612) 576-0632
We ask that everyone send what they can...be it money or supplies.
PLEASE HELP PROTECT OUR SACRED SITES!