Comments from:

At 12:58 PM 9/11/97 -0400, you wrote:

Dear Ishgooda:

I am one of the attorneys working with Chief Bearskin and the Wyandotte Tribe to pursue economic development opportunities in Kansas City, including the development of a gaming facility.

For too long now, the Absentee Wyandot, who call themselves the "Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Inc." have engaged in a brazen disinformation campaign designed to slander both Chief Bearskin and the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. Chief Bearskin has continuously turned the other cheek and ignored falsehoods and half-truths being told by the Absentee Wyandot. NO MORE. It is time to set the record straight and that effort begins here and now. First, the Wyandotte Tribe has always had the right to build a facility over the Huron Cemetery. The Wyandotte Tribe has never wanted to use the Cemetery for any purpose, other than a cultural center, and have worked for 5 years to find another location. The Tribe believes locating its facility at The Woodlands is in the best interest of the State, the City, the Tribe, and all people of Wyandotte descent. The Tribe has been working for the past 18 months to make The Woodlands a reality.

Last November and December, the Tribe initiated descussions with the Absentee Wyandot in an attempt to settle the frivolous lawsuit the Absentee Wyandot brought against the Tribe. In exchange for the Absentee Wyandot dismissing their lawsuit, the Wyandotte Tribe offered the following:

The Absentee Wyandot rejected the Tribe's overtures and insisted that the Tribe convey title to the Cemetery to the Absentee Wyandot. Unfortunately, the Wyandotte Tribe cannot do this. The United States holds title to the Cemetery in trust for the benefit of the Tribe and an Act of Congress would be required for the transfer that the Absentee Wyandot requested.

The second half-truth relates to the Absentee Wyanot's status. The Absentee Wyandot ARE NOT AN INDIAN TRIBE. In fact, within the next several months, they will be notified that they cannot be granted recognition as an Indian Tribe. The Absentee Wyandot hope that by suing the Secretary of the Interior over the Huron Cemetery, they will somehow get Federal Recognition they are NOT legally entitled to.

The Absentee Wyandot's true agenda is to get Federal Recognition, and possibly build their own casino in Kansas City.

As for the Tribe's plans for the Huron Cemetery, Darren English, once again, has misled you. Nobody is surveying, or doing anything else on the Cemetery yet. When and if the Tribe moves forward, the Tribe intends to use sophisticated technology to avoid unearthing any remains. The Tribe certainly has no intentions to exhume bodies, and plans on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars extra to avoid this.

The Tribe hopes that its plans for the Woodlands will go through so that no work takes place over the Cemetery. But with Holly Zane actively working against the Tribe's Woodlands Project, the Absentee Wyandot seem intent on forcing the Tribe to build over the Cemetery.

If the Absentee Wyandot really want to preserve the Huron Cemetery, why are they trying to stop the Tribe from developing an alternative site?

There is more here than meets the eye. Keep your eyes and ears open as the true story comes out.

Paul N. Filzer

Filzer & Gruttadaurio, P.L.L.

Khwe,

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