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to Personal PageOpen Letter to President Bush
April 12, 2002
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As I read the news reports concerning involvement of U.S. troops and military equipment around the world, I have become aware of a fact which is extremely negative toward American Indian tribes and individuals. This fact is concerned with the use of names of American Indian tribes, individuals or sacred symbols to identity United States Weapon Systems, Military Aircraft, Land Systems, Military Ships, Bombs, Missiles, Nuclear Weapons and other combat systems. This use of Apache, Comanche, Navajo, Laguna, Wolf, Fox, Rainbow, Tomahawk and other American Indian terms in American weapons and their support systems serves to personify death and destruction as having the full support of American Indian tribes, individuals and their traditional religions.
Certainly, there is not full support among American Indian tribes and religious leaders over the foreign and military policy of the United States toward the world?s ethnic and racial populations. With the growing conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, the use of American Indian named weapon systems leaves an impression that American Indians are the direct cause of the deaths of Palestinians.
American Indian tribes still have conflict with the United States over sovereignty and the restoration of lands stolen by Americans and Europeans since Columbus. With the use of American Indian terminology for American weapon systems without permission of existing traditional American Indian tribes, another "theft" by America has occurred. By this letter, I want you to become aware of this cultural theft which has joined American Indians to death and destruction of people who have not been declared "enemies" by the tribes.
As your authority as Commander-In-Chief of American military forces, I request that you order the removal of any names of American Indian tribes, individuals or sacred symbols from all United States Weapons, Military Equipment and Support Systems until permission is granted by the American Indian tribes.
With regards,
Charles Cambridge, Ph.D
Navaho
Shiprock Agency, 4/4
Census Number: 201,171
P.O. Box 316
Boulder, Colorado 80306
