Treaty Beer Stands For Equal Rights For All
I read with great interest the Feb. 3 column by Nancy Butterfield, a Wisconsin Chippewa transplant to Washington, against Treaty Beer.
She referred to the fact that Stop Treaty Abuse (STA) organized ``violent protest'' against helpless Chippewas exercising their ``treaty-reserved'' fishing rights. I couldn't help but wonder if she also felt the students in Tiananmen Square also were conducting ``violent protests'' against a duly elected fair and impartial Chinese government; or if the people in Eastern Europe were conducting ``violent protests'' in Eastern Europe against open, representative governments.
The reality of the boat-landing protests last spring in Wisconsin is that thousands of sportsmen, resort owners, business people and retired persons took the time to exercise their only constitutional right they still had left in the face of the environmental terrorism and resource rape being conducted by a small number of the Chippewa tribal members (all full U.S. citizens as well as Wisconsin residents) who reside in Northern Wisconsin.
These tribal members who hide behind the term, ``traditional rights,'' go to any lake they choose in Northern Wisconsin and slaughter tens of thousands of spawning game fish during the closed spawning season. Behind the veil of ``traditional spearing,'' they use no traditional equipment whatsoever.
They use aluminum boats, gas engines, 100,000 candle power battery-operated lights and metal spears made in Taiwan. The only traditional element left is that the fish die. Few of these fish are used for subsistence. Many are sold. Many are dumped (uncleaned) in the dump and on roadsides.
Yes, STA opposes this blatant rape of our state's resource. We also oppose the unbridled slaughter of the deer herd in Northern Wisconsin by tribal members who shine deer with hand-held 100,000 candle-powered lights and shoot the deer with high-powered rifles from cars - all in the name of ``traditional rights.''
An objective person has to look at the opposition being mounted against Treaty Beer and wonder why this coalition of tribes, tree huggers and politicians is so worried about Treaty Beer coming to Washington.
The truth is that these groups are terrified Treaty Beer is going to do just what it did in Northern Wisconsin, i.e., lead the people of Washington in a fight against oppressive federal Indian policy and show them how to remove politicians who refuse to represent the will of the people.
This threat is particularly dangerous to the tribes and politicians in Washington because of Initiative 456. In 1984, 53 percent of the Washington state's electorate voted in favor of Initiative 456. This was the most unprecedented action ever taken by any state against federal Indian policy.
A total of 918,000 people took the time to vote for equal rights, equal access and equal responsibility toward this state's natural resources. The result has been that politicians have only protected their own vested interests and ignored the will of the people.
STA was faced with a similar situation in Wisconsin. We recently successfully recalled an incumbent state representative for the first time in state history. STA did it legally and solely because he failed to represent the will of the people in his district relative to the treaty issue.
The people power at the boat landings brought immediate top-level state involvement to our treaty problem. Prior to the demonstrations, state government considered it a back-burner issue and called it a ``federal problem.''
The recall rocked the state political system down to its socks. Every politician, state and federal, took notice of the will of the people.
When Treaty Beer tried to come to Washington in 1988, we made it very clear STA intended to use the profits from sales to promote and pursue Initiative 456. The governor took the unprecedented action of coming out against it and asking the public to boycott the beer.
There was, and is now, enormous demand for the beer. The governor could not allow STA to refuel Initiative 456, so he applied extreme pressure and threats against the beer distributors who had already agreed to carry the product. This year STA beat the governor at his game of choking off the distributors. Now he is trying to use the secretary of state to stop STA.
You judge how vulnerable an enemy is by how defensive they become. The current state government is terrified that STA will fund and refuel Initiative 456. It is terrified because the current state government has ignored the will of 53 percent of the electorate and chosen instead to operate in secret closed session to allow vested interests to gain control of the timber and water rights, while giving the tribes an open door at fish and wildlife resources.
The reason the tribes are now so defensive is because for the first time in 50 years, they are in danger of losing their stranglehold on the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. On June 29, 1989, the high court ruled on the Yakima case. The tribes suffered a monumental setback.
Now, for the first time in 50 years, there is a conservative court which has made it clear it will not rule in favor of the tribes over nontribal citizens. STA donated to Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA), which submitted a brief against the tribes in the Yakima case.
STA has made it clear Treaty Beer will use its profits to fund other cases against oppressive federal Indian policy.
There are several bills in Congress to date which will abrogate current antiquated Indian treaties. STA and Treaty Beer support all the courageous senators and congressmen who stand up against the powerful Bureau of Indian Affairs lobby.
All these signs signify hope for the people who are adversely affected by federal Indian policy. All these signs mean we are heading for an end to federally-funded segregation in the name of federal Indian policy. All these signs scare the hell out of tribes, tree huggers and politicians with vested interests who refuse to represent the will of the people.
So why are the state government, the tribes and the tree huggers going wild against Treaty Beer? Because if every person who voted in favor of Initiative 456 bought a case of Treaty Beer, those opposed to the unjust, unconstitutional Federal Indian Policy would have over $1 million to fight against a governor who cuts secret deals with the tribes, against U.S. citizens who claim special rights and privileges over other U.S. citizens, and to push for the implementation and passages of Initiative 456.
The thought of STA and Treaty Beer helping support the will of the people terrifies those who are benefiting at the expense of others. I guess my advice to Nancy Butterfield is not to read my lips - read the writing on the wall!