LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR WESTERN SHOSHONE 
RE: Impoundment of Cattle in Elko County, Nevada

Dear Sirs,

It has recently come to my attention that Helen Hankins and Clint Oake of the Bureau of Land Management have served trespass notice and intent to impound livestock notice to Paula J Brady of the Western Shoshone who is the family representative of the Healy Family of the Ogden Indian Ranch of Butte Valley, Nevada and they have five days in which to remove their cattle.

Other tribal members in the past have been involved with the Western Shoshone Treaty issue and land claims asserted by the traditional members of this nation. The Ogden Indian ranch is an Executive Order reservation established for the Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada and lies 90 miles south east of Elko. It is in a remote location and the family are in a very vulnerable position and are unprotected.

The Elko District Office of the Bureau of Land Management does not recognise the contents of the Ruby Valley Treaty of 1868 and have continued to harass and threaten the Western Shoshone traditional and tribal members with lies and deceit. The BLM have continued to use tyranny, racism and terror towards these American Indian People.

This abuse by the BLM has got to stop, we only ever hear of Indian cattle being impounded and none impounded owned by white ranchers, but if I am wrong in this then please correct me. The BLM use the excuse that the land is overgrazed and if this is so then more land should be found for the Western Shoshone Nation on which to graze their animals. Please remember that Indian people have been in America for thousands of years and were the original caretakers of the land, they took care of it very well and things started to go awry with the arrival of white settlers in America. When everyone gets their own. The land belongs to the American people and no-one else, the land was taken from them, treaties were made with them and repeatedly broken. This happened throughout the United States and not just in Nevada.

These Indian families are trying to make a living and be self-sufficient, they do not want to live on Government hand-outs, but instead they are continually being abused, threatened and harassed by the BLM. I would urge you please to put a stop to this immediately so that this family and others can live their lives in peace.

Respectfully yours, 

Mrs Christine Hewitt 
Burnley, England