Here's an article I wrote for the Native Unity site which I'm hoping will get reposted widely. Already I've posted it to Indybay. Obviously I encourage everyone to post it anywhere they can. The idea is to spread the word far and wide so it will make it harder for these militias to operate their scams.
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http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/11/01/18627485.phpMilitia Movement Infiltrates Six Nations
By Al Carroll
Militia and “sovereign citizen” movement are making inroads within Six Nations communities, and possibly Anishnaabe and other Indian tribes as well. These groups spread bizarre New Age ideas from Afrocentrics, Black supremacist ideologies, Moorish Science, and other fake-Egyptian cults that undermine Native sovereignty, promoting distrust in actual American Indian legal claims, Native oral history traditions, and Six Nations elders.
These ideas pose a threat to the unity of the Six Nations. Native artists such as David Fadden/Kanietakeron, musician Billy Green, and rapper B-Chilla have all publicly stated their belief in the so-called Camel’s Eye Treaty, a conspiracy theory that claims all international law is bound by a treaty written 1600 years ago. In falling for such obviously fake history, some activists such as Monica Peters of Akwesasne Women’s Fire risk harming Six Nations’ causes by seeking to base them on fraudulent documents and misunderstanding of the law. They also associate with a variety of fringe characters harmful to Native peoples.
The “Sovran” Movement
The proponents of the “Sovran” movement include members of dangerous militias (one of whom worked to overthrow a government), alternative medicine, New Agers, and Quebec separatists. The central idea running through this movement is that a person can supposedly legally declare themselves sovereign, or in the movement’s bizarre misspelling, “Sovran,” and thus be beyond all laws. Sorry, but the real world does not work that way, and the only likely result is that you will go to jail. Judges and prosecutors will just be amused at how little you understand both the law and the real world.
The “Sovran” movement is centered on a “clan” with an extremely long title, the Divine Creator Ordained Sovran Signatory Clan-Mothers Daughter Of The Great Spirit Of The Divine Supreme In Law Tacit Court For The Sovran Unity Nations Embassy. The address of this "embassy" is an office in Lakeside, California, northwest of Sacramento. One of the names on the site is Ernestine Trudeau, who claims to be an Anishnaabe elder, though no reservation or reserve of hers is mentioned.
While the “Sovran Clan” poses as Native, most other leaders at the “embassy” are non-Native. The president is Brian Sawer-Foner, a graduate student and Green Party candidate in McGill, Canada. Their "chief justice" is another non-Native, Mario Antonacci, an entertainer who actually bills himself as the "World's Craziest Man." On the Sovran site he gives legal advice straight from the sovereign citizen movement on how to make yourself autonomous as a "steward" of theirs.
The Sovran group has “Departments of Technology” and sells “Quantum Healing,” “Orgonite Pendants,” “Healing Machines to cure cancer,” and an “Energy Auto Charging Device to restructure the molecules of the OGM Foods.” For various fees from fifty to 300 dollars, plus annual fees of twelve more dollars, you can get different IDs and license plates. Their store is largely altmedicine, including pyramids and "implant killers." Someone needs to tell them The Matrix was just a movie.
The Sovran group will also give you advice on the IRS, have a Security Department and another called, “Formation and Guiding Department for all new Ambassadors.” There is also a department called Hemp Industry, and another called Earth Healing.
The Sovran group uses false versions of Native prophecies from a virtual Who's Who of New Age frauds, including:
Adam DeArmon AKA "Adam Yellowbird of Sedona," a white New Age healer.
Roy Steevensz AKA “Roy Littlesun,” a Dutch-Indonesian man claiming to be a Hopi elder who is barred from the Hopi Nations for disrupting their ceremonies
Aurelio Diaz AKA Tekpankalli, who claims to be Purapecha, but has an Aztec name.
The Sovran group claims to have “embassies” all over the US and Canada, and seeks to establish more in Europe and Latin America. Often they have “embassies” for a state, province, or even a small town. In Six Nations Mohawk Territory, the “Ambassador” is Bill Squire. The “Ambassador” for Oka is Patricia Delisle. Their “Ambassador” for Montreal is also their “chief justice” Mario Antonacci. Most bizarre of all is their “Ambassador” for the Lakota Nation, Lyle Christensen, is based in Garland, Texas.
Groups that Sovran works with include secessionists like the Quebec Patriotic Militia, who in their words, “offer a force of structured intervention that will protect against an…invader that would want to assimilate the people,” and tax resisters on the far right like the De Tax Canada Forum. This Sovran group also hopes to become an offshore banking site. Someone cynical might say they hope to attract money laundering operations. The legality of this venture is dubious at best.
An associated Sovran group is Freedom Files. The group is led by “Mary Ann Blackshear -Monarch Matriarch, Most High Maiden Holding the Court of Life, Clerk, Executive Ambassador, Postmaster, Notary.” Harriet Blackshear is the "Mother of the Most High Maiden" etc, etc, while Deana Marie Armstrong Blackshear is the “Sister of the Most High Maiden” etc etc. Marie Ernestine Trudeau is their “Flowing River Ambassador” while Marie Bouche is their “Sunflower Ambassador.” Karen Anne McDonald is their plain old “Ambassador.” (What happened, Karen?) Jessie Walker Tidwell Blackshear is their, “Annointed Ones Spirit Walking Upon the Earth Diplomatic Minister.” Seriously!
Do the Sovran groups really expect anyone to take their pretensions seriously? Their titles only seem to show they play Dungeons and Dragons too much, or that they can’t tell a Renaissance Fair from real life. Meanwhile their dubious cures virtually guarantee the ill health of their victims and the legal intervention of health authorities.
Even more outright dangerous is the involvement of a member one of the worst militia groups in North America. Navin Naidu AKA “Chief Judge Silver Eagle” was the “tribal judge” and economic advisor for the Little Shell Pembinas, a militia posing as an American Indian tribe. The Pembinas are described by the Anti Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group filled with anti government extremists. Naidu was once the lawyer for George Speight, who led an unsuccessful coup in Fiji and was charged with treason. Naidu was deported from Fiji for falsely claiming a certificate to practice law.
Now Navin Naidu calls himself Aidun N.C. Naidu and is the “tribal judge” for a group calling itself the Tuscarora Signatory Indian Tribe. Naidu also calls himself “Presiding Elder” for Word in Action Ministry, another group listed as affiliated with militias by the Anti Defamation League.
The real Tuscarora tribe is based in upstate New York. Tuscaroras also live in the traditional homeland of North Carolina. But this “signatory tribe” gives a mailing address in
Onaway, Michigan. The phone number for the “tribe” is an unpublished landline based in Grayling, Michigan. Why would a supposed tribe use someone's phone in another city, and keep the name hidden? Grayling is not that close to Onaway, it's two counties over. Another number for the “tribe” is another unpublished number that is actually a cell phone based all the way down in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Taken together, these “Sovran” groups undermine sovereignty for actual Indian tribal nations, spreading confusion with their fantasy role playing, moneymaking schemes of doubtful legality, and attempts to usurp the place of rightful tribes.
The Camel’s Eye Treaty Hoax
The Camel’s Eye Treaty has become the guiding document for Sovran groups. Monica Peters of the Akwesasne Women’s Fire is perhaps it strongest advocate. Supposedly the alleged document is based on writings by the late Meredith Quinn, who at one time called herself the legal advisor for the "Dakota Empire." Yet believers in this alleged treaty have provided no evidence it ever even existed.
The contents of this document are filled with many obvious falsehoods and a great deal of, to put it kindly, incredible weirdness. These writings attributed to Quinn include many references to DNA and mitochondria, terms pulled out of thin air that are meaningless such as "self proclaiming dragon chiefs" and "divine life force delta 9 frequency." I also don't think I have ever seen divine angels of light and Interpol discussed in the same document before. It would be an unintentionally funny joke, except that believers in the document are causing quite a bit of problems in the Six Nations and elsewhere.
Believers in the treaty also write at length about “kanabosm.” This is their term for marijuana, and they provide pages of descriptions as to why it's sacred and "majik." Side by side with treaty discussions they also write dozens of pages on the witch hunts in Europe, the Virgin Mary, and the Essenes, a Jewish cult in ancient times.
The falsehoods from the alleged Camel’s Eye Treaty itself are numerous and obvious. Below are the most obvious:
1. "This treaty is known as the Treaty of the Camels Eye, The Eye of Isis and The Eagle Bowl Treaty, and it was signed July 2nd 408 A.D. upon the surrender of the Roman Empire."
Why would a treaty supposedly written a thousand years before Columbus affect Natives? Why would it be named after camels or Isis? Rome fell in 476, not 408.
2. "Peace Pipe Treaties [These treaties cover all Indian Tribes of North and South America]
The Seal of Solomon Treaty [Covers all Blacks, Arabs and Israelites]
The Paladium of Troy Treaty [Covers Asia and Minor Asia]
Noah’s Ark Treaty [Covers all Anglia, Saxon, Mercia and Northumbrian Groups or The White Tribes of Europe]"
Where to begin? Peace pipes aren't used by many tribes, and many tribes never signed any treaties at all. The Seal of Solomon referred to Solomon’s ring used to signify his authority, not any treaty. The Palladium (with two ls) was in Athens, not Troy. There is no such place as Minor Asia. There is only Asia Minor. Why would a treaty for England be named after Noah's Ark? And why are only the ancient peoples of England mentioned as "white tribes of Europe"? Where are the Germans, French, etc?
3. "...Remember at the time Rome surrendered it’s power in 408 AD, England was given the responsibility of fulfilling the articles of the Camel’s Eye Treaty, because England was the second Rome."
England was a minor province of the Roman Empire. Most of it was never even conquered by the Romans. England certainly never took over the former territory of the Roman Empire. In 408 AD, England was divided under many rulers and would not be united for many centuries.
4. "The ROMAN EMPIRE included the Crown of England, France and Spain. To this day, should you follow the bloodlines of the ROYAL FAMILIES, you will find them to be the descendants of the OLD ROMAN EMPIRE or the ROMAKOS who are the descendants of GREEK ROYALTY."
The Roman Empire did not include the crowns of those three nations. The British and Greek dynasties are actually both German in origin.
5. "...And the name of this book can be found in the new Bible-Numbers 21:14. The Monarchy of any Tribal Government are called: Angels; Daughters of the Great Spirit or Pure Light."
What a conspiracy theory about the Bible has to do with Indians is anyone's guess.
6. "To be a member of a Signatory Tribe, you must belong to a clan that is ruled by a Clanmother who appoints Chiefs to speak on behalf of her clan. The entire Tribe ruled by Clanmothers, Angels, Pure Light, or Daughters of the Great Spirit, become the Title Owners of the Sovereign Territories."
Do they seriously believe that the US or Canadian governments required Native women to be recognized as angels of light before they could sign treaties? Actually, these governments preferred (or more often, insisted) Native treaty signers to be male.
7. "The exception to this are the 5,6, and 7 Nations that were Indian Tribes created by George Washington"
They seriously believe that George Washington somehow created tribes?
8. "The original Iroquois Confederacy was 52 Nations."
By such a bizarre claim they just called every keeper of Haudenosaunee tradition a liar.
Monica Peters of Akwesasne Women’s Fire described on their website how she came to believe in the Camel’s Eye Treaty:
“I remember when I first heard of the Camel Eye Treaty, back in June 2009. I was involved in a late night discussion with a new group of people that I did not know very well yet. We were talking about personal experiences, world events, dream symbolism, and astrology.
When I first heard about the Camel Eye Treaty, I was very tired and confused. My brain could not even process the information and how it pertained to my life today. I am very curious to learn every day, so I decided to start researching the topic.
The Orion Prophecy
Hieroglyphs
Astrology as it pertains the location of Pyramids ** See the orion prophecy
Egyptology
Eye of Isis
Obelisk in New York City, behind the Metropolitan Museum
Symbology
The Berbers….
It also makes sense to me that our ancestors have frequently changed their ‘names’ over the years as a survival tactic.
I believe it is also worth our time to discover the commonalities with our Creation stories and compare those to Egyptology topics that are not government controlled knowledge.”
In other words, Peters believes that Six Nations oral tradition is false and her elders are liars.
Instead she chose to believe pseudo-science and fraudulent history that came from Black supremacists or so-called Moorish Science, and not even the profession of Egyptology as she thinks. Peters abandoned the Six Nations traditions that have been a source of strength for her people for centuries for, in her words: astrology, Egyptology, symbology, Orion prophecy, and conspiracy theories about obelisks and the government.
Not even The De Vinci Code is that unbelievable. Peters firmly denies being a cult member, but certainly she has fallen for ideas that are cult like and ridiculous, with no basis in fact and contrary to every Native oral tradition known.
For Ernestine Trudeau, she has chosen to ally herself with the militia and sovereign citizen movements that are filled with Quebec separatists, New Agers, and altmedicine quacks. Whether Peters or Trudeau realize it or not, the militia and sovereign citizen movement are a bizarre union of both Black and white supremacists. It is truly a shame that Natives who no longer believe in their people’s traditions get added to that strange alliance.
So-called Sovran groups are not tribes, nor clans, nor nations. Most importantly, they are not sovereign, never were, and never will be. “Ambassadors” of these groups are almost as delusional as their leaders. These so-called Sovran groups have no hope of succeeding in getting their dubious legal claims recognized. Deep down, I suspect the leaders of these groups realize that, even if the low level members don’t, just yet.
What these groups offer, as most conspiracy theories and pseudo-history offer, is a false feeling of being special, a naïve notion that its believers hold a secret others don’t know, and a simplistic way of seeing the world that comforts them temporarily. But only temporarily, because the law has a way of catching up with the fast buck con artists that the leaders tend to be. Its followers will likely go their own way, wiser but sadder, and perhaps poorer for any money they threw away.
The real losers, of course, will be genuine American Indian tribal nations, the actual Six Nations. Because their genuine claims, with historical and legal backing, will be much harder for the US and Canadian authorities to take seriously every time these pretenders claim to speak for Indians.
Dr. Al Carroll is a historian, Fulbright Scholar, and activist, helping found the hatewatch group New Age Frauds Plastic Shamans (NAFPS) at
www.newagefraud.org. He is the author of Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War from University of Nebraska Press.
