Native Intelligence: Native American Studies University of California, Davis victory ui his efforts to have the North American Free Trade Agreement pasted by the U.S. t ongress But ut reality he has lust How' rheU S CooatituUoa absolutely rcaatretftutauy treaty obtata a 2/3 .imimattve role ia the U S Senate That airaat that NAFTA had to yet 6# votes Bat NAFTA pot only 61' So NAFTA is act law1 Bill Clinton loot an oath to uphold the U.S. Coast Not ton. as do U S Senators, aad all are boond bv its provistoas Of course. CltMon s people claim that NAFTA is sunptv an ' agreement' aad not s treaty, but that is just semantic trickery A formal agreement between sovereign nates inations) is a treatv Thai t what the word treaty means You can call such aa apreemeni a declaration." a "convention, or whatever you want, but if it is a formal apreement between sovereigns it is always a treaty and the U S Confutation requires a 2/3 vote for ratification Sixty-eight voles, not 61! The genocide treaty was called the Genocide Convention but ii required a 2/3 vote hi lite Senate to We know that ex-Presidcui Geurpe Bush and bis negotiator* designed NAFTA to be a treatv because N AFT A purports to be abic to nullify the laws of the United States, of the fifty states, and of local governments if they confttct with ihr provistoas of NAFTA. Tin* means that NAFTA becomes a pari of U S law. part of the "supreme law of the land " But according to the U S Constitution, only a treaty ratified by a yes vote of 2/3 of the U.S Senate can bec ome pan of U S law A so-called ?'agreement '. w hate* er ?Iwt might be. can have no legal force wMhis the Uided Stales The House and Senate , by sunple m^ontv rate, caaaot pass a ua? which nullifies slate sad local laws and ordinances, except m cairn* subject area* where the ConMMntwn grants the federal government supremacy las ia foreign affairs, defense and the like I Thus NAFTA as a simple law of the Senate and House cannot achieve its otaectives. Only at a treaty ratified by Zfi of ihe senators with a yes rale can NAfTA achieve its objectives of nullifying oar federal system of government The newspapers tell us that NAFTA has won Their reporters apparently don't read the Constitution What can we do ' ' Obviously some organization, state government city, tribe or a combination of the above must go into court to have NAFTA declared inoperative, ot obtain a writ against its being implemented in January l*M4 Organized labor should take the lead, out Mate, provincial, local and tribal governments should be equal I v concerned about the threatened loss of the powers of self government posed by NAFTA Tribes and some territories should also note that NAFTA does not appear to refer to their legal existence Native governments as well a? the territories of Guam, -samoa and the Virgin Islands are not included in NAFTA except under ihe umbrella term of 'local gov emmeius or as stmpl v pan of the "customs lemtory " ot the U.S. Of course, tribal and territorial governments are not "local" Thus it is very important that ? tribal and temtoriaJ governments and the Associated Free State of Puerto Rico seek to have the courts declare NAFTA to be inoperative within their territories without the specific consent ol their governing hod ic rat of allowing iIwikIwi to be categorized * imply u "local" governments, and at having their sovereign powers drastically diminished. (Slater, provinces and territories also fcce the same Iota at self-government, of course) Ln addition, tribal and band dec w ithout effect within then tenitcnes and on any lands to which they possessaclaMMe.g..lhe Black Hills). One objective might well be to force the U.S.. Canadian and Mexican governments to agree to a renegotiation of NAFTA in which all international agreements relating to the rights of indigenous peoples, women, children, ethnic minorities and labor can be incorporated into the treaty Moreover, ooe might wuh to demand that any new NAFTA be accompanied try a North American Parliament with elected delegates, including representation for tribes and indigenous communities After all. NAFTA is supposed to be patterned after the European Economic Community, but the EEC also has the European Parliament NAFTA is now lo be run by people who are not elected but simply appointed. That isa big difference to think about! Bui of course, election means nothing either unless indigenous governments, women and ethnic minorities are guaranteed representation, lit any case, maybe people should think about these options and not give up. Professor Jack D Forbes. Powhatan-Delaware, is the author of Columbus and Other Cannibals. Africans and Native Americans and other books. Pembroke State's Class of '54 Was a Pivotal Class in School History Thirteen members of the IV54 Pembroke State College IVM graduating class of 28 members gathered at what is now Pembroke State University during homecoming on Feb 26 and reminisced about how their class was such as pivotal one in school history The reason In If54. the U S Supreme Court passed a law desegregating all public institutions What had been started as an dl Indian school here was then it> ope n it.-. di k room paid fur two years A member of the PSl) Athletic Hall of Fame Locklear plaved baseball, basketball and football As a baseball intieldei he was described by PSl1 C hancellor Joseph Oxendine as hav ing an arm stronger that of Phil Rtzzuto ot the New York Yankees, who ha> iuss been chosen to the baseball Hall of lame His arm would have put Rizzuto sto shame." said Oxendine ' Uelus >mawley a graduate of Appalachian Slate I'm versiiy. headed the physical education program and was a tine coach said Dellon Ray Lockleai The Braves' athletic teams played the Appalachian Jayvees plus Campbell. Lion. Pfeiffer. Wing ate. Loutslwrg. Newberry, and several serv ice team* "The onlv trouble we had was getting food.' insetted one class member, re temng to how Indians were not allowed m most white eating places in that segregation era On a happier note, the class reminisced about Sadie Hawkins Dav' being held on the campus each tall with the girts chasing the boys, and bow evervooe gathered after lunch to sit on a white bench built around a Ktree near Old Main "Everyone everyone else We were one big happv family." the class members agrees Chancellor Oxendine brought to tltr ieuiiton some recorded music of (he PSU alma mater. Hail to PSU." and four members of the Class of '54 joined to sing it. They had formed what the v claimed to be the first quartet to sing the alma mater when the song was first written by Ira Pate Lowry and his wife Reba. both of whom are now deceased. Making up the quartet were Erytle Ransom. Grace Dial Locklear. Adrene Carter Locklear. and Martin Lowry "It is good to have someone to sing lb? alma mater and sing it rlgtrt " smiled the chancellor, who told the Class of '54: "It is good to have you here I want to encourage you to keep the tie to PSU and the tie to one another. It makes no difference what year you graduated than PSU. We still feel this is the tie that binds us together regardless of how old we ate The University is proud of you, and we want vou to continue to be proud of the University. It is good to have you back on campus, and I hope you have a good day " As one looks through the Class of '54 yearbook, an aerial picture of the campus in those days stands out The only brick classroom or administrative buildings were Old Main. Sampson Hall, the old gvm. Moore Hall, and Locklear Hall, the growth since then has been phenomenal, as one person described it Prices have changed, too. A member of that class told how she and others could " go across to where the Exxon station is now located and buy a baloney sandwich. Pepsi, and piece of cake-all for a quarter'' There have been ether changes like the college's mandatory chapel "We all had assigned seats in the auditorium in Old Main. And Berteen Prine (secretary to the president! and Inez Freeman (bookkeeper) would sit in the balcony and check to make sure we were all present", one class member said The class of'54 had many students of different ages because several had been in the service and others had resumed theirstudies from high school days Of the 28 in the class, five are deceased But of the 13 who gathered here Feb 26. there was great joy as they recalled incidents of' those good old days " I nw da ?f 'U m to 4ft* mmim m NmMmkt Stm Ikdmd*: 1+ to ** f*m raw*. Admm Cmrnl UMmt. Gtmit Did LmkUm. Lmrdmt C Mtgmm, AddMt Umry M ?*w? MaM Nwtl Cwwfcnheir upcominit marriage on HUurJay. Hunk / Wi. 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