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Tuesday, December 06, 2005

White Plume in 8th circuit court of appeals-Dec 12

Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 28, 2005
From: Alex White Plume, Percy White Plume, Tierra Madre, LLC and
Madison Hemp and Flax 1806, LLC.

U. S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to Hear White Plume Case in St.
Louis, 12/12/05

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has
scheduled oral arguments in the pending case of Alex White Plume;
Percy White Plume; Tierra Madre, LLC; and Madison Hemp and Flax
1806, LLC vs. United States of America (Appeal No. 05-1654,
consolidated with 05-1656) for December 12, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. in St. Louis, MO.

The case is under appeal from a ruling by the United States District Court Judge Richard Battey in Rapid City, SD. Battey ruled in favor of the government without taking oral argument on behalf of the White Plumes. The oral argument before the Court of Appeals represents the first time the White Plume's will be able to have their case heard before a court.

In what has been deemed "a sovereignty case that is very uniquely
framed," the White Plumes have planted industrial hemp on their
family land for three seasons only to have it cut down and
confiscated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The White Plumes assert their right to raise industrial hemp as an exercise of their sovereign rights and pursuant to an Oglala Sioux Tribal Ordinance enacted to secure rights guaranteed by the Treaties of 1868 and 1851.

The U.S. government maintains that its asserted "trust responsibility" gives it the final authority to decide appropriate uses of reservation lands.

Contact:
Alex White Plume/Percy White Plume
605-455-1142
Bruce Ellison, Attorney for the White Plumes
605-348-9458
David Frankel, Attorney for Tierra Madre, LLC/Madison Hemp & Flax
1806, LLC
808-870-0990

Background article

The Drug War Comes to the Rez
When Alex White Plume planted a field full of industrial-grade hemp, he hoped that his crop might lift his family and community out of poverty. Then the DEA came to Pine Ridge.
By Leora Broydo
February 13, 2001

Alex White Plume called it his "field of dreams": an acre and a half of plants so tall and strong they seemed to touch the sky; a crop representing hope for a new and self-sufficient life for his family, residents of the desperately impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

But on Aug. 24, 2000 at sunrise, just four days before White Plume and his neighbors planned to harvest their bounty, White Plume awoke to the sounds of helicopters. He looked out the window and saw a convoy of vehicles heading for his field.

He raced down to investigate, and was met by a slew of black-clad and heavily armed figures -- 36 agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the US Marshal's office. full article

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