HAVE JUST NOTED THAT THESE TWO PAGES HAVE BEEN TAKEN/STOLEN FROM OUR WEBSITE

HAVE JUST NOTED THAT THESE TWO PAGES HAVE BEEN TAKEN/STOLEN FROM OUR WEBSITE (March 23 2014)


I'm sending these two pages around for these reasons:  First, I planned to place the Link to the first page on my piece of this morning: "Rambles . . ."  But it was gone from our Hunterbear website -- totally, even its Microsoft Front Page.  Secondly, this led me to search for the second page herein.  And that was totally gone as well.

This is extraordinary, given the very well protected nature of the Hunterbear website -- protected by us and also by our server.

Since we've been here in Idaho since the summer of '97, there has been no end of harassment.  And our website has been attacked many times.

I think these two pages were taken because they discuss two eminently respectable and very successful speaking things I've done here in Idaho. (There have been others.)  Those obviously interfere with the covert attempts to denigrate us -- most likely from Homeland Security locals, possibly assisted by FBI.  This theft was within the past two years, in Obama's Free America.

Fortunately, I found the respective texts from Bear Without Borders and Marxist.  We also have them on a CD, which recorded the entire website as of Summer, 2006.  Hunter Bear

SPEAKING TO THE DEMOCRATS AT IDAHO FALLS (MAY 8 2005)

Things went well last night at Idaho Falls [a good ways to the north of
Pocatello and on the edge of the Teton Basin] where I was the keynote
speaker at the well attended Truman Day Banquet sponsored by the Bonneville
County Democrats and drawing from a broad area.  Between 250 and 300 people
paid $35 and $40 per plate [depending on just when they bought the ticket]
for a rather sparse but tasty banquet plate. The affair was held at the Red
Lion hotel.

Eldri and I sat at the lead table, with Josie and Cameron [who drove us up
to Idaho Falls in a heavy rain] and with the capable master of ceremonies
and his wife -- and, very pleasantly indeed, with Cameron's grandparents, Mr
and Mrs Lin Whitworth of Inkom.  Lin, a crusty Western populist almost
exactly my age, is Idaho's veteran senior union labor person and a hard
fighter.  An old-time railroad man who spent years in the state senate, he
did well as Congressional candidate last fall despite very little money.
Among others, we were pleased to meet and visit with Jerry Brady, who has
been publisher of the Idaho Falls newspaper and, last fall, did very well as
gubernatorial candidate. [He plans to run again.]  Mr Brady worked with the
late Senator Frank Church in substantially assisting the formation of the
1963 Civil Rights Bill which became, of course, the key '64 Act -- and his
wife, with whom we also visited, had worked in DC in the old days with
Marion Berry and other SNCCers.

I spoke for the better part of an hour on the Civil Right Movement --
bringing in some contemporary dimensions.  I used the Deep South as an
example where positive social/political change could occur against
tremendous odds -- if committed people fought for it in sensible and
systematic and hard-fighting fashion.  The audience, mostly but not
completely Anglo, was extremely attentive and visibly receptive.  Of course
I brought in my recently received and very welcome honor -- the Elder
Recognition Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and
Storytellers. http://www.wordcraftcircle.org/HnA2005.htm  And I quoted my
youngest son, Peter [Mack] who, in his congratulatory e-mail, referred to me
as "the toughest son of a bitch" he knows -- thus abruptly ending my
self-perceived venerable saintliness.

Idabo, like any human setting, is complex.  I would caution our Eastern
friends about making quick "pop" judgments and classifications -- e.g.  "red
states," etc. [BTW, that term bothers me in its ambiguity since, as with
many older folk, it connotes other interesting things in the historical
sense.]  The dominance of Republican conservatism is not, in my opinion, all
that deep.  Some of it comes in the wake of the demise of Labor in two out
of three of its traditional Gem State bastions: hard rock  metal mining in
the Coeur d'Alenes  and lumbering in the Clearwater and adjoining districts.
The third citadel of Labor does hold on at Pocatello and environs in the
Union Pacific railroad operations -- although UP has been sporadically
shifting workers out of state -- and there is also  considerable phosphorous
mining and refining in this general area.   Boise, far to our west, is
becoming a major high-tech place and this may carry good potential Labor
developments.

Historically, it's worth pointing out that Idaho has had one of the heavier
socialist backgrounds; the Coeur d'Alenes were the primary birthplace of the
Western Federation of Miners which became Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers; an
Idaho jury in 1907 acquitted Bill Haywood and George Pettibone and freed
Charles Moyer in the infamous Steunenberg murder frameup;  and one of the
last really big IWW strikes in the West was the essentially successful
lumber strike in the mid-1930s which saw company gunmen shooting down
pickets with several deaths and many injuries. [Idaho's criminal syndicalism
law, by far and away the most extreme in the Western states, is still
technically on the books.] More recently, the state has had very liberal
Democrat Senator Frank Church [ousted in the Reagan wave of 1980] and, in
the 1990s, Larry Echohawk, Pawnee Indian, a Democrat who served as attorney
general and then almost won the governorship.  At least part of the Idaho
Republican delegation  is currently and openly critical of the Patriot Act
and its various collateral feathers.  And nationally, the  "gun control"
issue is  dead for the time being in national Democratic circles -- which
has very positive ramifications in the Mountain West and adjoining areas
like the Plains.  I picked up evidence of a good deal of support for Howard
Dean last night.

Alone in the entire throng, and in traditional Western fashion [everywhere
but in church], I wore my Stetson -- and my size 16 mountain boots as well.
In any event, I drew a very long, standing ovation.  At the conclusion of
the event, many came up and several, including Lin Whitworth, allowed
heartily that I am a tough s.o.b. "And so are you," said I to Lin.

Josie and Cameron, who had never heard me really speak like this before,
were impressed -- and that means much.

As Ever, Hunter [Hunter Bear]

A GOOD DAY WITH BLM AND USFS [HUNTER GRAY, 1/24/05]

NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:

Things went well -- in fact, very well -- in my talk today to key staffers
from U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Caribou National Forest on the
Civil Rights Movement, its historical forces and personalities, attendant
issues -- both past and contemporary, national and Idaho-wise: economic
privation, the "War," repressive legislation, police problems, death
penalty.  These were all Western outdoor professionals, several of them
Native:  engineers, land and water and grazing and timber management
specialists, archaeologists, fire control experts -- to name but a few.
Casually dressed, their many questions were among the best I have ever
received in that topic context [and they appreciated my Indian and Western
humor, some of it self deprecating].  I had handout material that discussed
the Jackson Movement and Medgar Evers,  Tougaloo College, Martin King.  A
copy of my book, Jackson Mississippi -- which a BLM friend owns -- was
widely passed about.  Eldri was there and contributed much rich observation,
especially on Old Mississippi. Others were present and Thomas came between
classes at nearby ISU for my whole thing.

The session was officially scheduled for 10:30 am to 11:30 am and it went beyond
12:30 pm.  Everyone stayed.  Afterward, a BLM friend and his wife and Eldri
and I had lunch.  We talked to some extent about the right-wing "Sage Brush
Rebellion" [called now by various names], which seeks privatization of all
public lands and the theft of Native lands -- in order to benefit the
so-called agricultural and resource and recreational interests.  This
country and its people are fortunate in having as ethical watch-dogs BLM,
USFS, National Park Service, National Wildlife -- and other outdoor Federal
agencies -- and at least some [not nearly enough] Native lands that have
been somehow kept intact.

About three years ago, I posted on the Sage Brush Rebellion and the
so-called Western Caucus.  Here it is:
http://www.hunterbear.org/western_issues_2.htm    [Link to my full piece]
 

NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:  1/25/05

Many topics were discussed yesterday in my excellent meeting with BLM and
USFS people.  One involved a very special reason we came to this specific
setting in Eastern Idaho:  my direct ancestors, John and Marienne Gray and
their oldest, Peter. [Among the Idaho place names honoring John Gray are
Grays Lake and Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge. If all the ancestral
tributaries that flow into us and beyond are critically important, this one
stands very high on the mountain.  They are presently much on my mind as is
their Winter Camp, which is only a relatively short distance from our home
right here.  Some may have already seen this -- I have added a little
more -- but, in any case, here is the intro to my not-short piece, and then
the link to the full saga.  H

NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR: I am writing much new material and expanding older
stuff -- and I am doing so "with all deliberate speed."  When I initially
wrote a shorter version of this piece, I could hike five rough mountain
miles per day with ease.  I no longer can hike at all -- at least not at
this point.  But, ever the optimist, I hope to again, and I can certainly
always remember.

[Special Note 1/25/05:  From mid-Summer, 2005, I have been hiking two to
three miles each trek in our immediate rough mountains.  I have to move more
slowly, but I get there and I get home. And we get to the special Gray
places.  My feet have grown once again -- to Size 16 -- and I have new Lowa
Mountain Boots.]

John Gray, Mohawk/Scottish, who was also known as Ignace Hatchiorauquasha,
and his Mohawk wife, Marienne, are my direct ancestors.  They are also among
the major culture heroes of our family  -- exemplifying the best of the
"Indian Way" :  human beings of great grace and courage who devoted their
lives to serving their community rather than serving themselves -- and who
developed and maintained an extraordinarily cohesive family which functioned
always as a collective and communalistic "horde."

Most of their lives were spent in uncharted lands in the turbulent Western
fur trade.

I spend no time at all on the so-called "Mountain Men/re-enactors" of today
who occasionally try to contact me for information on the Grays.  These
people, romantics and superficial ones at that, are interested only in
self-serving glitter for themselves -- and care nothing about the great
creative and constructive  life-long activism and service of John and
Marienne.

A man who did care  -- and who well captured much of the meaning of all of
this -- wrote of John Gray:

"His unusual ability to deal with the whites enhanced his stature as an
Iroquois chief. . .he stood out as a gifted leader of his people,
understanding and following their ways in a manner that would have been
difficult for a white man. . . he not only explored the wilderness. . .he
also helped to bridge the cultural gap between Indians and whites during the
years of the fur trade, even though much of the time the Iroquois and white
trappers did not get along together at all well , and the whites often
resented his position on the Indian side when there were differences in
outlook.  More than that, his leadership of the Iroquois out of Ogden's
camp, May 24, 1825, contributed substantially to the Hudson's Bay Company
adoption of competitive pricing that limited the expansion of the St. Louis
fur trade in the Oregon country."  [Merle Wells, Idaho State Historical
Society, on John Gray]

http://www.hunterbear.org/GRAY%20LANDS%20AND%20GRAY%20GHOSTS.htm  [my full
article]

Glad to hear the presentation went well; when people remain after they don't have to it's always a good sign.  Sounds like you're in fine form as always.  

Hope this energized rather than exhausted you.  Maybe it did both.  [John Salter]  1/24/05

  
Dear Hunter Gray: I'm fortunate to be reading you on the SNCC list.  All Best, Jacqueline Fralley  1/24/05 

Sounds like a great talk. What was the best question you were asked?

Later  [Peter Gray Salter/Mack]  1/25/05
  

Hunter Bear: "Why did you come to Pocatello?" and also, "How were you able to keep
going -- over the long haul -- through everything?"  To the first, "John
Gray --  Hatchiorauquasha".  And the second, "Life long commitment to social
justice which started in childhood -- as well as Eldri's always present and
strong support."  H




HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / 
St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk 
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO


Check out our massive social justice website
www.hunterbear.org  The site is dedicated to our
one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray, and to Sky Gray:
http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm

See my piece ON BEING A MILITANT AND RADICAL
ORGANIZER -- AND AN EFFECTIVE ONE (Mississippi et al.):
http://crmvet.org/comm/hunter1.htm

See our very full COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
page -- with a great deal of practical material:
http://hunterbear.org/my_combined_community_organizing.htm

See my  new expanded/updated "Organizer's Book," 
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000 word
introduction by me. This page lists many reviews.
And this book is also an activist's how-to manual: 
 http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm   

The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm:
(Photos)