Page 75 - ACTL Journal Win24

Blue Lake that had been taken by the federal government upon nothing more than a written order of President The- odore Roosevelt. The land, and the water it produced, were sacred to the tribe. Efforts to recover the land and water had been successful to a point – they had convinced the government of the illegality of President Roosevelt’s order, but no remedy was offered to them other than money. But they didn’t want money, they wanted the return of their sacred land and their source of sacred water. Senator Harris made it happen with bi-partisan support.
Next, Senator Harris spoke of his work on the Kerner Commission, to which he was appointed by President Johnson. The Commission served to describe and study the race riots that had occurred in the summer of 1967 in more than twenty major cities. His story of a phone call he received from President Johnson, just before he was appointed to the Commission, was hilarious. [Editor’s Note: Well, maybe so, but Lee didn’t share the story so it’s hard to share the laughs . . . ]
The final speakers were Tiller Russell, a filmmaker who lives in Santa Fe, and ACTL Fellow Dick DeGuerin of Houston, Texas. Tiller Russell directed a Netflix mini-series entitled
WACO: American Apocalypse. The series was created in recognition of the thirtieth anniversary of the stand-off near Waco between the FBI and the ATF on one side, and the Branch Davidian followers of David Koresh on the oth- er. Russell spoke about the making of the series and the sig- nificant focus on Dick DeGuerin’s valiant efforts as the at- torney for David Koresh. DeGuerin presented a convincing case that the law enforcement officers should have taken the dispute to court in order to allow a judge to resolve the stand-off, which could possibly have prevented the killing of dozens of the Davidians. DeGuerin’s final slide on the presentation was a photograph taken of a law book, among the remains of the Davidians’ complex, laying open and partially burned, turned to a page that read: “The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution ensures the right of persons to be secure in their houses, papers, and ef- fects against unreasonable seizures.” DeGuerin pointed out that the Fourth Amendment survived the fire.
At dinner Saturday evening the participants were treated to Hoop Dancing by two award-winning Native American hoop dancers, and a speaker who described the history and meaning of the dances. The show – the entire meeting – was very much enjoyed.
Lee M. Rogers, Jr. Roswell, NM
WINTER 2024
JOURNAL 74