Letter sent to Columbus Dispatch, Demanding Retraction

From: Notoweega Nation
Great Elk Dancer For His Elk Nation
44 East Main Street
Logan, Ohio 43138

To: The Columbus Dispatch
34 S. 3rd St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215

March 10, 2014

Re: Zanesville's black residents' fight for clean water, bittersweet

I am Head Sachem of the Notoweega Nation, Great Elk Dancer For His Elk Nation. I am writing to you in regards to the Columbus Dispatch’s February 16th's Article by Eric Lyttle. "Zanesville's black residents' fight for clean water, bittersweet." We the people of the Notoweega Nation object and find your sensational, misleading and racist headline very offensive.

Allow me to educate you on the racial classification of my people. My family members who came from and live in Zanesville and Chesterhill, are in fact Native American. Our points of origin are among the Woodland People arising from such place as the East Coast and Canada and Ohio. From there our people settled in the areas of Barbour County, West Virginia and Hancock County, Tennessee, migrating back into the Ohio area soon after the removal period

We can trace our ancestry to Sam Norris who was Half Cherokee and English, born in Morgantown, 1750 and Princess Pretty Hair who was a Full Blooded Delaware, Lenni-Lenape Woman. We have many other American Indian familial ties to others such as Catherine Dice, Seneca, Pricilla Harris, Catawba/Saponi, Hanna Goins, Choctaw/Cherokee, Ruth Ann Adams, Powhatan and many more, all American Indian of Matriarchal Descent.

We are and have been known in our community as American Indian, We are known and recognized in the American Indian Community as being of American Indian Ancestry and a distinct Nation of people. We have and enormous amount of documentation and history at our disposal to back our affirmation and consistency as American Indian Peoples.

The "One Drop Rule" in Ohio, does not apply to our people as we are "American Indian." It does not matter if we have family members that are of White, Black, Asian, Native American ancestry or what ever other race that has married into our Familial lines and Heritage. It is about our Cultural Identification that has always continued and exists as American Indian ie, Notoweega.

Slanted Articles such as yours that are highlighted by biased headings and other publications, including political figures like Walter Plecker, only add to the misconceptions of our people. Mr. Plecker was the head of Virginia Vital Statistics. Walter Plecker changed our documentation and Racial Classification from “Indian” to “Mulatto or “Black,” From there Mr. Pleacker threatened clerks who allowed our people to file as Indian would face jail time. All biased upon his own personal opinion and ignored any data contradicting his own personal views. He is the father of the Eugenics’ Movement that was admired and implemented by Adolf Hitler, inspiring the Jewish Holocaust.

Your article and it’s false insinuation that our families of Zanesville are “Black” is a continuation and propagation of this Paper Genocide that for the last three hundred years has harmed and browbeaten, denied, ignored causing fearful repercussions and created false classification’s, which is a gross misconception of a group of people that has left many of our family members whom are less informed to comply with this societies complete disregard and agenda to deny our true history. We will no longer allow such publications like the Columbus Dispatch to define our Racial Heritage.

Currently The Notoweega Nation has filed a claim in the South Eastern District Federal Court of Ohio, We are arguing that our TREATY and INHERENT SOVERIEGN RIGHTS have been violated by the Local Municipality as well as The State of Ohio.

We are requesting that the Columbus Dispatch immediately RETRACT their False and Sensationalized article concerning our Tribal and Family Members of the Zanesville Community.

Sincerely,

Head Sachem Notoweega Nation

Great Elk Dancer For His Elk Nation

Cc: Associated Press

Zanesville Times Recorder
34 S 4th St,
Zanesville, OH 43701

Eric Lyttle
The Columbus Dispatch
34 S. 3rd St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215