Giving Back, NALEO Citizenship Workshop video

Hi all,
I just volunteered with NALEO, Ya Es Hora as a Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Volunteer. I shot my FIRST BLOG VIDEO...so let's see if we can link it from the Facebook Page :)

Here goes:

Life Update, Eddie Pacheco, and some of my thoughts about the Navajo Nation ID Card. :) Thanks for reading- Leland

by Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 12:59am

Jimmy Calabaza and I, Leland Pacheco (Kirk) Morrill

Hi WWWpeeps,

I apologize for not posting notes or info about what I've been up to during the Summer until now. It's been a rough time both financially and otherwise but the Native Spirit in me is resilient. I thank all the great energy around me, for those who've helped me along the way both by helping me figure out a new route when stuck at a dead end through thought, life-pattern, financially, food-wise, etc. I was always helped by some great energy source and I am grateful.

I now am working again at a jewelry company here in Los Angeles. I've spent the summer selling Obagi Vitamin C Serum online at Ebay, that helped pay the bills. For those who purchased that product, THANK YOU. I am grateful because that paid the bills.

In August I decided I needed another source of income, as no job prospects were there, so I signed up with Central Casting and was cast in a film END OF WATCH as an immigrant, then was in a TV series called Rizzoli and Isles as background and in September I was cast as a Tribal Officer in another feature film SAVAGES. Both END OF WATCH and SAVAGES will come out in 2012 so watch for those. In October I gave back and volunteered as an extra in a Stand Up To Cancer national commercial that aired during the 2011 Major League Baseball World Series pre-game and playoffs.

Acting paid the bills and I am grateful for those. I also met up with some great Native American actors from various tribes/nations that live here in Southern California. Some I've remained friends with. Those friendships I am grateful for.

For those who have read my NOTES, you know my struggle and it's been a long expensive achievement toward being enrolled in the Navajo Nation, one where I had to garner some national attention including blogging and facebooking about it. Thank you for reading. And to those who have given input, comment, and suggestions, THANK YOU. I used everything that was given.

Today I decided to attend the annual American Indian Arts Marketplace at The Autry National Center (museum) in Griffith Park across from the Los Angeles Zoo. I attended in part because one of my acting friends Dennis Garica's brother has a booth there ever year. Ted Garcia is Chumash-Tataviam and makes Soapstone carvings and is quite talented, finding many of his stones in the Bouquet Canyon area, near the dam up in northern Los Angeles County near Santa Clarita, California. I arrived after talking to another of my friends Tai, also from acting, and we wandered around as Tai introduced me to many of the native vendors. This was how I happened upon a man named Jimmy Calabaza, from the Santo Domingo Pueblo.

As some of you know from my NOTES, Linda Carolyn Kirk and Eddie Pacheco are my biological parents. At least I've always been told Eddie Pacheco was my father, hence my middle name PACHECO that Judge Joe G Bennalley, Trial Court of the Navajo Tribe in Chinle Arizona, insisted I keep as my middle name instead of KIRK. I've learned over time, there is purpose for events happening, this was one.

It turns out as my search ensued, I learned Linda Kirk, my biological mother, met Eddie Kirk in Albuquerque as she worked a government job there. I was born in 1966 as a result of their relationship. Eddie is from the Santo Domingo Pueblo.

So getting back to Jimmy Calabaza. As my friend Tai was talking to some of the people at Jimmy's booth, I looked at earings & purchased a pair. I started talking about my mother dating a guy named Eddie Pacheco & Jimmys wife was more verbal & she started discussing that with me as Jimmy listened but didn't really say much. We talked about other things, such as internet marketing and such to fill in the gaps of the conversation. I finally got out of Jimmy and his wife that Eddie Pacheco had died. After finding that out, I had this feeling that was the end of the road on my search.

Sometimes that's just the way life is. Just there. I didn't ask when he died as it was a public marketplace and it didn't seem appropriate.I just left it at that. As far as Jimmy and his wife knew, my mother only dated Eddie. I didn't tell them Eddie Pacheco was my biological father. I thought that would be too much to tell them in one dose. I have since emailed Jimmy so as soon as he opens that "pandora box" email, he will be aware the reason for my questions.

The picture above is of me and Jimmy. I thought it interesting how similar our features were. The excuse I gave for attempting and successful photograph was because I wanted a picture of "the artist" the person who made the earrings I purchased. Sly, I know.

On another note, The Navajo Nation is coming out with their National/Tribal ID cards on 11-11-11, Veterans Day. I had planned on attending and was going to take the Amtrak to Gallup. My Aunt and Uncle were going to pick me up and I was going to tell my final decision once I'd talked to the Window Rock Vital Statistics. I emailed Leonard Benally at Vital Statistics soon after President Ben Shelly's National Address where he announced there would be Tribal Cards issued. Mr Benally never responded so I finally called and talked to RuthAnn at Vital Statistics. I found out only 100 ID's would be issued on Veterans Day and people would be selected at random. The likelihood of me getting one that day might have been slim so I have now decided to wait.

My Aunt said December would work for them, so that is what I am going to shoot for taking the Amtrak to Gallup and then heading to the Window Rock Vital Statistics office to get a Tribal Card. I hope ever Navajo Nation member understands the importance of obtaining one, at $17 a pop. It's important as it will replace the green CIB paper.

Well, I'm exhaused from the day and will continue to post other content as time progresses. I am thankful to have my identity back, a State Issued Drivers License & my CIB.WHEW what a year.
I'm also thankful for the reintroduction to my Navajo Roots, meeting my cousin Matthew in March 2011 just before I obtained my CIB. Now to get my brown butt back to the REZ to see the rest of the Kirk family. :)

Thank you so much for reading my NOTES, my frustrations, failures, successes and triumphs. Hopefully my story and any content within this and my blog will assist/help others in their journey and make them aware they are not alone in their search nor are they as unique as they thought.

Walk in Beauty!
Leland

Where do I start, and how?

by Leland P. Morrill Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 5:24pm
Change...kinda hard huh. I was just watching my online friend Ryan Yezak's video Moving On, very inspiring.
HERE IT IS just in case you need some inspiration in your life:

One area of my life that has had a continual focus has been on the years of research to obtain my Navajo Nation Birth Affidavit and membership back into the Navajo Nation. I thought perhaps it would be a great idea now that some time has passed to start and catalogue or write steps to help others. Any suggestions of areas where to take this page from here forward is something I am struggling with.
breathe, breathe breathe

First off, if you don't have any understanding of the Real ID Act, you can read the Wikipedia content here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act and then you can "GOOGLE" the subject if you feel you need to.

How does The Real ID ACT of 2005 affect me?
When you apply or renew a State issued Identification Card or Drivers License you will have to supply proof of your existence.

For most people this will be easy. You will need:
An original copy of your State issued Birth Certificate
An original copy of your Social Security Card issued by the Social Security Administration
a photo, usually taken on the spot once you have provided the first two. Just out of habit, of renewing, you'll probably show your current expiring State issued ID or DL card.
Pay the fee and you're done.

This page/blog is more for Native Americans born within one of the fifty States of America who were adopted out of their tribe without proper documentation such as a State issued Birth Certificate or National (Native Nation) Birth Certificate/Affidavit. Sometime in addition to not having a birth document, you may not be enrolled into your respective Nation or Tribe, as in my case.

Where do you go from here if the local DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) denies you a State issued identification card or drivers license card?
If you're an adopted Native American, one of the first places to start your search is your Final Judgement of Adoption, aka adoption papers. Make sure you have an original copy, or a certified copy. If, over the years you only have a photocopy, or G*d-forbid, a mimeographed one (LOL) then you'll need to contact the issuing Family Court.

Be thankful today we live in the INFORMATION AGE. GOOGLE, or search for the address, website, telephone number of the issuing Family Court. It's a great idea to call them. Find out what form, or if you have to write a letter, what is required and start assembling that and send it off. These days, who knows, it may be as easy as filling out an online form, submitting it and paying it with a credit/debit card and then waiting for them to send you an original copy of your Final Judgement of Adoption. You may be required to download, print, fill it out, sign, date and then have it notorized. Some copy, office supply stores have notaries & the prices will vary. Here in Los Angeles, the price of a notary I used at Coast Stationary in my neighborhood on Spring Street here in Los Angeles.

My local Notary Public is located at an office supply store here in Los Angeles on Spring Street!

Coast Stationary was great for me as they also had a fax machine, internet as well as the notary service. They charged me a $10.00 notary fee. That will give you an idea of how much it may cost you to notarize your documents as you continue to research your documentation. By the way, it's a great idea to purchase multiple copies of "originals" from the State or National Family Court because you may end up having to one to a State Vital Statistics office, another to a "Native" Nation Vital Statistics office and then, OH YEA!!!! YOU NEED at least ONE! :D
Just sayin!

On your Final Judgement of Adoption look to see if your birth date, birth location and census number are on it. If they are not. Call back the State or National Family Court and ask why they are not on the document. In my case, for some mysterious reason, the Navajo Nation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, State of Arizona turned a blind eye to this and Judge Joe Benalley signed off on the adoption and my parents fled off to Canada with me and my Navajo sister the day after our adoption, July 16, 1971. Yup...well actually, my adopted dad was transferred with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (A whole other "story"). Getting back on subject. Sometimes, as in my case, the adopting parents were supposed to fill out the application for a birth certificate and the application will still be laying in a file somewhere. If not. you're going to have to start your search.

If your adopted parents are still alive, ask them all the questions you can currently think of about your adoption. Find out any stories they heard along the way of adopting you. If you were a foster child, what was your last name, did you have siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins, etc. Are there any pre-adoption medical records? What hospitals, medical centers?

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN.
Utilize the internet.
If you do not have the internet at home, find an internet cafe, or a wi-fi hotspot. If you have a public library, use their computers or utilize their "hotspot" with your own laptop/netbook. I'm in my local library writing this note/blogpost...Yup, The Central Library downtown LA. :D

Tuesday June 21, 2011, Central Library, Los Angeles, California.

After you've written everything down, applied and sent off the necessary forms for your original copies of your adoption papers... that's your starting point.
The next entry will start where this one ended.
IF you have any suggestions about this entry, PLEASE "comment". Oh, an LIKE my page

Resilience, Keep it up and TGIF

The positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Santa Monica Pier, June 2011
Leland Pacheco Morrill, born Leland Kirk
The search I and many Navajos and other Native americans have achieved, and those who will endure to retain U.S. Citizenship and legal status in the fifty States of America because of the Real ID Act of 2005 is one that proves we as natives to this land are resilient, enduring, here to stay and will identify ourselves over and over again regardless of any assimilation tactic placed upon our native nations, be they individual or otherwise.

I'll start from my own experience. If you've been reading my notes you've obviously felt my raw anxiety, stresses, and roadblocks that have been overcome. If you haven't read my notes...please, I invite you to. I started out back in 1984-85 as a freshman at Brighham Young University in Provo Utah 18 years old and hearing the name of an Aunt Ruth, who happens to be Ruth Shirley-Kirk married to my biological mothers fathers brother John Kirk (Great Uncle). I'd also heard the name Linda Kirk as my biological mother. No documentation at that time was presented with the hearsay from my adopted parents, or from any legal standpoint either. As some of you readers know from previous notes written on this page/blog: my Final Judgement of Adoption did not have an Indian Census number on it, did not name my biological parents by name, nor was my birth date ever mentioned nor percentage of indian blood. The judge, Joe G. Bennalley of the Trial Court of the Navajo Tribe also did not follow through and order a birth certificate or affidavit as a representative of a Nation. This was my starting point 25-26 years ago. From that point over a span of the decades including the 80's, 90's, 2000's and 2010's, I built up my evidence by first finding out some of the Navajo's I attended university with were related and then with further questioning finding out the names of relatives that matched & finding out where they lived. I went and visited in the Spring/Summer of 1985 my Aunt Ruth Shirley-Kirk and also at that time met my cousin Calvin Kirk who to this day I understand still remembers that awkward encounter.

From there my search wained a bit as I started to work on self, finding my place, working and living life. In September 1989 with a few friends, Freddie Tsosie and if recalled correctly, Everett Chackee and Anderson Thomas, we travelled to the Navajo Reservation on vacation. Everett and Anderson both had to go to the Gallup Indian Hospital so we spent the day there. Yes, all day. That was normal to them. While there, just on a whim, I decided to see if there were any medical records for me there so, I checked and sure enough found out I had been there from 1969-1971 under the name Leland Kirk. So, I filled out the needed paperwork and obtained copies of my own medical records. Little did I know how valuable the short three year record from 1969 to 1971 would become decades later in my search to retain my own legal status in the United States, the right to have a State issued identification card and State issued drivers license, the right to be employed, and all other rights taken for granted IF one posesses that valuable plastic State issued card.

Yes I had to read the fine print, figure out a timeline of my life for those three years, talk to U.S. Senators, U.S. Commissioners, write anyone who I figured out might have any knowledge about who my parents might have been, etc. Then came the internet. I became increasingly amazed at how information can be traded at lightning speed. How tools such as blog/Facebook Page, GOOGLE, County Property Records, web resources such as the LDS Church Family History Library, The National Archives could be manipulated and useful in my search to regain my lost identity. I had two lost identities by now, one created by the Real ID ACT of 2005 where I needed to prove my United States Birth, even though I'd only been told a place of birth, which I now no longer use as Fort Defiance Arizona has replaced that, and also that of my Native Nation, Dine, or Navajo.

Resilience, hard work, years of sleepless nights, great friends, new found relatives all who empowered and energized me by helping prod me along when I became weary, upset, fatigued by the process of research research and more research and every roadblock, intersection along my path to finally obtaining my Navajo Nation Birth Affidavit. Yes, at some point I found the light at the end of the tunnel & walked through it with new found knowledge and understanding of how resilient one person can be, with the aid of a whole city/village of people helping me along. Yes, I asked for alot of help along the way. Sometimes there was no answer, sometimes I didn't know the answer was already there, but just needed interpretation, and sometimes, I admit, I bluffed a little just to see if another potential source could confirm my findings and then provide more based on them and if I traded information. Knowledge is power. I found out that to be key.

Part of what really helped me along was writing every little detail down, first and last names, phone numbers, email addresses, links, times and dates of when and who was spoken too and the details of each conversation. I have boxes of information needing to be sorted through, and the process written down how I arrived at each stage so when others ask me what the next step is, my turn to assist kicks in. Green light.

Today is Grateful Friday, and yes, I am grateful to all who have helped me. Those from the Navajo Nation, State Public Social Service departments, DMV's, politicians, attorneys, family both adopted and biological, and above all FRIENDS who stuck by me when it seemed like I had the loosing cards but in the end didn't. Perhaps bluffing a lil helped during my own experience, but I won out and now have that Certificate of Navajo Indian Blood, CIB, and a Navajo Nation Affidavit of Birth. It took a village of people. To that village of people: I am grateful, thankful and ever humbled by the immense process I can now look back at as I start my new life.

Next week I am interviewing for a position with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe, a new life I hope, of serving native people and helping to make our United States and our Native Nations more cohesive, and a better place to live and thrive.

Please read my other notes and comment.

Navajo Nation celebrates the Treaty of Peace Between the Navajo Indian Tribe and the United States of America...I had to read it

by Leland P. Morrill Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 8:52pm
My name is Leland Pacheco Morrill, born Leland Pacheco Kirk, son of Linda Carolyn Kirk and Edward Pacheco. My mothers Maternal Clan is Many Goats Clan and her paternal Clan is the Tangle Clan.
I was adopted prior to the 1978 Indian Welfare Act during the time of the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America (ARENA) on July 14, 1971 out of Chinle Arizona to an Ango Mormon family, the Morrills. Judge Joe Bennalley was the Trial Court Judge of the Navajo Tribe who separated me from the Navajo Nation by not assigning me a Census Number, nor referring to my Navajo parents by name or writing in my Final Judgement of Adoption the date of my birth. All these proved successfully to separate me from my native Nation.

It is because of this separation and my determination and law, The Real ID ACT of 2005, that I finally successfully gained membership into the Nation of my birthright on April 11, 2011, almost 40 years after my adoption and through 22 years of research. Because of my inquisitive nature and knowing the Navajo Nation is in celebratory spirits over this Treaty between the Tribe and America, it perked my interest as to what the treaty was about.


I do not speak Navajo, but hope to some day, and also would like to know stories of The Long Walk from Fort Sumpter New Mexico in now where Highway 60 and 86 meet some 300 miles from Chinle, Arizona where I was adopted out of and 328 mile from Fort Defiance where the Navajo Nation Vital Statistics assigned my birth after long discussing and thought this past April.

Leland Pacheco Morrill born Leland Pacheco Kirk...undocumented until April 11, 2011


On June 1, 1968 29 Navajo "headmen" signed the Treaty of Peace Between the Navajo Indian Tribe and the United States of America.


I'm sure few even have read this treaty or know of the Navajo signers:
Barboncito, Chief

Armijo, Delgado, Manuelito, Largo, Herrero, Chiqueto, Muerto De Hombre, Hombro, Narbono, Narbono Segundo, Ganado Mucho

or the Council:

Riquo, Juan Martin, Serginto, Grande, Inoetenito, Muchachos Mucho, Chiqueto Segundo, Cabello Amarillo, Francisco, Torivio, Desdendado, Juan, Guero, Gugadore, Cabason, Barbon Segundo, Cabares Colorados.

First I will go over what my thought are as I'm reading the Treaty for the FIRST TIME. Then afterward is the actual wording of the Treaty so you may understand where my thoughts came from as I was reading through the Treaty of 1968.

Before I start, Happy Independance Day to the Navajo Nation June 1, 2011, my first as a member of the Navajo Nation.

Here goes:

In Article 2 Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, is named as the Northern edge of the Navajo Nation Fort Defiance. This is where the Navajo Nation Vital Statistics personnel, Alisia, thought was closest to where I may have been born, this is where I am assigned. Also, as a child I remember hiking down Canyon de Chelly, also named as Canon-de-Chilly in the Treaty.

The costs of buildings to start the nation as being interesting:

Warehouse <=$2,500.00 Agency Building/ (agent "for" the Navajo's) Residence <= $3,000.00 Carpenter Shop $1,000.00 Blacksmith Shop $1,000.00 School $5,000.00 Chapel $5,000.00 This treaty refers to head of a family, where recognition of a matriachial society is not mentioned, the writing is in the masculine only, for homesteading up to 160 acres or any person 18 years old without a family or not being a head of household to have up to 80 acres to cultivate to be known as settlers. It's interesting to read in Article 7 how each farmer receives the first year $100.00 and second and succeeeding years $25.00 for seeds and implementation. I do like how the Treaty provided for education of children ages 6-16 and for a schoolhouse to be provided for every 30 with a teacher, but the thought of only an English Education bothers me, because I myself do not speak Navajo after being separated from my Nation through adoption by one of their own, Judge Joe G. Bennalley. In Article 8 it talks of providing clothing and goods of <=$5.00 to make clothing and blankets and then $10.00 for ten additional years those who do farming or "mechanical" jobs. So making the Navajo Nation industrious or keeping it so, was paramount in this 1868 Treaty. The railroad seemed to be a cause for concern and opposition to it's construction as well. Makes me wonder what a scalp looks like after reading Article 9, 5. I do like how provision of obstruction, such as buildings, railroad, roads, etc are to be compensated to the Navajo Nation within this Treaty. I also like how in Article 10 a vote of 3/4 of the adult male Indians, I'm guessing these would be head of household or males over 18 years of age must be made for any changes in the treaty but am wondering if and how this has been honored throughout time. I'm not liking the wording of "removal, to the reservation" in Article 11. It makes Navajo's sound like cattle, less than human. Then again, there was a long walk of 300 miles. As for the cost of removal $150,000.00 doesn't seem like alot for a removal and starting a new Nation, The Navajo Nation, just before a winter. $50,000.00(estimate) for the removal of the tribe from the Bosque Redonodo Reservation to the Reservation. 15,000 sheep: <=$30,000.00 500 beef cattle 1,000,000 lbs of corn for the relief of the "needy" for the upcoming winter after the 1968 removal onto the Reservation. One part of this Treaty I do not like is Article 8 where it states: " if any Navajo Indian or Indians shall leave the reservation herein described to settle elsewhere, he or they shall forfeit all the rights, privileges, and annuities conferred by the terms of this treaty". My reasoning comes from my own removal through adoption pre-1978 Indian Welfare Act during the time the Child Welfare League of America used A.R.E.N.A., Adoption Resource Exchange of North America program to remove me as a minor off the Navajo Reservation. Oh, Happy Memorial Day 2011!! Happy Memorial Day May 30, 2011 from Santa Monica Beach California Below is the actual wording of the Treaty of 1868

Treaty of Peace Between the Navajo Indian Tribe and the United States of America
Concluded June 1, 1868
Ratification advised July 25, 1868
Proclaimed August 12, 1868


ANDREW JOHNSON
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA


TO ALL AND SINGULAR TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING:
Whereas a Treaty was made and concluded at Fort Sumner, in the Territory of New Mexico, on the first day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between Lieutenant General W. T. Sherman and
Samuel F. Tappan, Commissioners, on the part of the United States, and Barboncito, Armijo, and other Chiefs and Headmen of the Navajo tribe of Indians, on the part of said Indians, and duly authorized thereto by them, which Treaty is in the words and figures following, to wit:

Articles of a Treaty and Agreement made and entered into at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on the first day of June, 1868, by and between the United States, represented by its Commissioners, Lieutenant General W. T. Sherman and Colonel
Samuel F. Tappan, of the one part, and the Navajo nation or tribe of Indians, represented by their Chiefs and Headmen, duly authorized and empowered to act for the whole people of said nation or tribe, (the names of said Chiefs and Headmen being hereto subscribed,) of the other part, witness:


ARTICLE I.

From this day forward all war between the parties to this agreement shall for ever cease. The government of the United States desires peace, and its honor is hereby pledged to keep it. The Indians desire peace, and they now pledge their honor to keep it.


If bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington city, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also to reimburse the injured persons for the loss sustained.
If bad men among the Indians shall commit a wrong or depredation upon the person or property of any one, white, black, or Indian, subject to the authority of the United States and at peace therewith, the Navajo tribe agree that they will, on
proof made to their agent, and on notice by him, deliver up the wrongdoer to the United States, to be tried and punished according to its laws; and in case they wilfully refuse so to do, the person injured shall be reimbursed for his loss from the annuities or other moneys due or to become due them under this treaty, or any others that may be made with the United States. And the President may prescribe such rules and regulations for ascertaining damages under this article as in his judgment may be proper; but no such damage shall be adjusted and paid until examined and passed upon by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and no one sustaining loss whilst violating, or because of his violating, the provisions of this treaty or the laws of the United States shall be reimbursed therefor.


ARTICLE II.

The United States agrees that the following district of country, to wit: bounded on the north by the 37th degree of north latitude, south by an east and west line passing through the site of old Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, east by the parallel of longitude which, if prolonged south, would pass through old Fort Lyon, or the Ojo-de-oso, Bear Spring, and west by a parallel of longitude about 109' 30' west of Greenwicb, provided it embraces the outlet of the Canon-de-Chilly, which canon is to be all included in this reservation, shall be, and the same is hereby, set apart for the use and occupation of the Navajo tribe of Indians, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among them; and the United States agrees that no persons except those herein so authorized to do, and except such officers, soldiers, agents, and employes of the government, or of the Indians, as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties imposed by law, or the orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article.


ARTICLE III.

The United States agrees to cause to be built at some point within said reservation, where timber and water may be convenient, the following buildings: a warehouse, to cost not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars; an agency building for the residence of the agent, not to cost exceeding three thousand dollars; a carpenter shop and blacksmith shop, not to cost exceeding one thousand dollars each; and a school-house and chapel, so soon as a sufficient number of children can be induced to attend school, which shall not cost to exceed five thousand dollars.


ARTICLE IV.

The United States agrees that the agent for the Navajos shall make his home at the agency building; that he shall reside among them and shall keep an office open at all times for the purpose of prompt and diligent inquiry into such matters of complaint by or against the Indians as may be presented for investigation, as also for the faithful discharge of other duties enjoined by law. In all cases of depredation on person or property he shall cause the evidence to be taken in writing and forwarded, together with his finding, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, whose decision shall be binding on the parties to this treaty.


ARTICLE V.

If any individual belonging to said tribe, or legally incorporated with it, being the head of a family, shall desire to commence farming, he shall have the privilege to select, in the presence and with the assistance of the agent then in charge, a tract of land within said reservation, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in extent, which tract, when so selected, certified, and recorded in the "land book" as herein described, shall cease to be held in common, but the same may be occupied and held in the exclusive possession of the person selecting it, and of his family, so long as he or they may continue to cultivate it.

Any person over eighteen years of age, not being the head of the family, may in like manner select, and cause to be certified to him or her for purposes of cultivation, a quantity of land, not exceeding eighty acres in extent, and thereupon be entitled to the exclusive possession of the same as above directed.


For each tract of land so selected a certificate containing a description thereof, and the name of the person selecting it, with a certificate endorsed thereon that the same has been recorded, shall be delivered to the party entitled to it by the agent, after the same shall have been recorded by him in a book to be kept in his office, subject to inspection which said book shall be known as the "Navajo Land Book."
The President may at any time order a survey of the reservation, and, when so surveyed, Congress shall provide for protecting the rights of said settlers in their improvements, and may fix the character of the title held by each. The United States may pass such laws on the subject of alienation and descent of property between the Indians and their descendants as may be thought proper.


ARTICLE VI.

In order to insure the civilization of the Indians entering into this treaty, the necessity of education is admitted, especially of such of them as may be settled on said agricultural parts of this reservation, and they therefore pledge themselves to compel their children, male and female, between the ages of six and sixteen years, to attend school; and it is hereby made the duty of the agent for said Indians to see that this stipulation is strictly complied with; and the United States agrees that, for every thirty children between said ages who can be induced or compelled to attend school, a house shall be provided, and a teacher competent to teach the elementary branches of an English education shall be furnished, who will reside among said Indians, and faithfully discharge his or her duties as a teacher.


The provisions of this article to continue for not less than ten years.


ARTICLE VII.

When the head of a family shall have selected lands and received his certificate as above directed, and the agent shall be satisfied that he intends in good faith to commence cultivating the soil for a living, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and agricultural implements for the first year, not exceeding in value one hundred dollars, and for each succeeding year he shall continue to farm, for a period of two years, he shall be entitled to receive seeds and implements to the value of twenty-five dollars.

ARTICLE VIII.

In lieu of all sums of money or other annuities provided to be paid to the Indians herein named under any treaty or treaties heretofore made, the United States agrees to deliver at the agency house on the reservation herein named, on the first day of September of each year for ten years, the following articles, to wit:


Such articles of clothing, goods, or raw materials in lieu thereof, as the agent may make his estimate for, not exceeding in value five dollars per Indian-each Indian being encouraged to manufacture their own clothing, blankets, etc.; to be furnished with no article which they can manufacture themselves. And, in order that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may be able to estimate properly for the articles herein named, it shall be the duty of the agent each year to forward to him a full and exact census of the Indians, on which the estimate from year to year can be based.
And in addition to the articles herein named, the sum of ten dollars for each person entitled to the beneficial effects of this treaty shall be annually appropriated for a period of ten years, for each person who engages in farming or mechanical pursuits, to be used by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the purchase of such articles as from time to time the condition and necessities of the Indians may indicate to be proper; and if within the ten years at any time it shall appear that the amount of money needed for clothing, under the article, can be appropriated to better uses for the Indians named herein, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs may change the appropriation to other purposes, but in no event shall the amount of this appropriation be withdrawn or discontinued for the period named, provided they remain at peace. And the President shall annually detail an officer of the army to be present and attest the delivery of all the goods herein named to the Indians, and he shall inspect and report on the quantity and quality of the goods and the manner of
their delivery.


ARTICLE IX.

In consideration of the advantages and benefits conferred by this treaty, and the many pledges of friendship by the United States, the tribes who are parties to this agreement hereby stipulate that they will relinquish all right to occupy any territory outside their reservation, as herein defined, but retain the right to hunt on any unoccupied lands contiguous to their reservation, so long as the large game may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase; and they, the said Indians, further expressly agree:

That they will make no opposition to the construction of railroads now being built or hereafter to be built, across the continent.
That they will not interfere with the peaceful construction of any railroad not passing over their reservation as herein defined.
That they will not attack any persons at home or travelling, nor molest or disturb any wagon trains, coaches, mules or cattle belonging to the people of the United States, or to persons friendly therewith.
That they will never capture or carry off from the settlements women or children.
They will never kill or scalp white men, nor attempt to do them harm.
They will not in future oppose the construction of railroads, wagon roads, mail stations, or other works of utility or necessity which may be ordered or permitted by the laws of the United States; but should such roads or other works be constructed on the lands of their reservation, the government will pay the tribe whatever amount of damage may be assessed by three disinterested commissioners to be appointed by the President for that purpose, one of said commissioners to be a chief or head man of the tribe.
They will make no opposition to the military posts or roads now established, or that may be established, not in violation of treaties heretofore made or hereafter to be made with any of the Indian tribes.


ARTICLE X.

No future treaty for the cession of any portion or part of the reservation herein described, which may be held in common, shall be of any validity or force against said Indians unless agreed to and executed by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians occupying or interested in the same; and no cession by the tribe shall be understood or construed in such manner as to deprive, without his consent, any individual member of the tribe of his rights to any tract of land selected by him as provided in article 5 of this treaty.


ARTICLE XI.

The Navajos also hereby agree that at any time after the signing of these presents they will proceed in such manner as may be required of them by the agent, or by the officer charged with their removal, to the reservation herein provided for, the United States paying for their subsistence en route, and providing a reasonable amount of transportation for the sick and feeble.


ARTICLE XII.

It is further agreed by and between the parties to this agreement that the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars appropriated or to be appropriated shall be disbursed as follows, subject to any conditions provided in the law, to wit:
The actual cost of the removal of the tribe from the Bosque Redondo reservation to the reservation, say fifty thousand dollars.
The purchase of fifteen thousand sheep and goats, at a cost not to exceed thirty thousand dollars.
The purchase of five hundred beef cattle and a million pounds of corn, to be collected and held at the military post nearest the reservation, subject to the orders of the agent, for the relief of the needy during the coming winter.
The balance, if any, of the appropriation to be invested for the maintenance of the Indians pending their removal, in such manner as the agent who is with them may determine.
The removal of this tribe to be made under the supreme control and direction of the military commander of the Territory of New Mexico, and when completed, the management of the tribe to revert to the proper agent.

ARTICLE XIII.
The tribe herein named, by their representatives, parties to this treaty, agree to make the reservation herein described their permanent home, and they will not as a tribe make any permanent settlement elsewhere, reserving the right to hunt on the lands adjoining the said reservation formerly called theirs, subject to the modifications named in this treaty and the orders of the commander of the department in which said reservation may be for the time being; and it is further agreed and understood by the parties to this treaty, that if any Navajo Indian or Indians shall leave the reservation herein described to settle elsewhere, he or they shall forfeit all the rights, privileges, and annuities conferred by the terms of this treaty; and it is further agreed by the parties to this treaty, that they will do all they can to induce Indians now away from reservations set apart for the exclusive use and occupation of the Indians, leading a nomadic life, or engaged in war against the people of the United States, to abandon such a life and settle permanently in one of the territorial reservations set apart for the exclusive use and occupation of the Indians.

In testimony of all which the said parties have hereunto, on this the first day ofJune, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, at Fort Sumner, in the Territory of New Mexico, set their hands and seals.

W. T. SHERMAN
Lt. Gen'l, Indian Peace Commissioner.

S. F. TAPPAN, Indian Peace Commissioner.

BARBONCITO, Chief. his x mark.
ARMIJO. his x mark.
DELGADO.
MANUELITO. his x mark.
LARGO. his x mark.
HERRERO. his x mark.
CHIQUETO. his x mark.
MUERTO DE HOMBRE. his x mark.
HOMBRO. his x mark.
NARBONO. his x mark.
NARBONO SEGUNDO. his x mark.
GANADO MUCHO. his x mark.
COUNCIL.
RIQUO. his x mark.
JUAN MARTIN. his x mark.
SERGINTO. his x mark.
GRANDE. his x mark.
INOETENITO. his x mark.
MUCHACHOS MUCHO. his x mark.
CHIQUETO SEGUNDO. his x mark.
CABELLO AMARILLO. his x mark.
FRANCISCO. his x mark.
TORIVIO. his x mark.
DESDENDADO. his x mark.
JUAN. his x mark.
GUERO. his x mark.
GUGADORE. his x mark.
CABASON. his x mark.
BARBON SEGUNDO. his x mark.
CABARES COLORADOS. his x mark.
Attest:
Geo. W. G. Getty, Col. 37th Inf'y, Bt. Maj. Gen't U. S. A.
B. S. Roberts, Bt. Brg. Gen't U. S. A., Lt. Col. 3rd Cav'y.
J. Cooper Mckee, Bt. Lt. Col. Surgeon U. S. A.
Theo. H. Dodd, U. S. Indian Ag't for Navajos.
Chas. McClure, Bt. Maj. and C. S. U. S. A.
James F. Weeds, Bt. Maj. and Asst. Surg. U. S. A.
J. C. Sutherland, Interpreter.
William Vaux, Chaplain U. S. A.

And whereas, the said treaty having been submitted to the Senate of the United States for its constitutional action thereon, the Senate did, on the twenty-fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, advise and consent to the ratification of the same, by a resolution in the words and figures following, to wit:

In Executive Session, Senate of the United States,
July 25, 1868

Resolved, (two-thirds of the senators present concurring,) That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty between the United States and the Navajo Indians, concluded at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on the first day of June, 1868.


Attest:
GEO. C. GORHAM,
Secretary,
By W. J. McDONALD,
Chief Clerk.


Now, therefore, be it known that 1, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States of America, do, in pursuance of the advice and consent of the Senate, as expressed in its resolution of the twenty-fifth of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, accept, ratify, and confirm the said treaty


In testimony whereof, I have hereto signed my name, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.


one at the City of Washington, this twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the ninety-third.


By the President:
W. Hunter,
Acting Secretary of State

SIGNING OF THE 1868 TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE NAVAJO INDIAN TRIBE AND THE UNITED STATES
June 1, 1968, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, President of the United States of America

SOURCE: http://reta.nmsu.edu/modules/longwalk/lesson/document/treaty.htm

YAY my plastic card called a Drivers License came in the mail Wednesday! The Drama is over...kinda.

by Leland P. Morrill Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 12:52am
Wednesday I received my plastic card from the California DMV. Yup it's official, I now have a California Drivers License.

YAY my PLASTIC CARD showing I have a State issued Drivers License!!
What happened was when I went on April 14, 2011 to go get my Drivers License, I forgot my glasses so I only applied for the California Identification Card. I intended to go back but funds have been a little low lately after this whole 22 year research project that has been so paramount in my life. 40 years ago this July I was adopted out of the Navajo Nation and then began a feeble attempt by my anglo adopted parents to get a birth certificate. They at least sent in an application. Whether or not they followed up after the application phase no longer matters because I finished what they neglected.
It's amazing that it took me twenty-one years, seven months and 7 days to research and finally complete what should have been done back in July 1971 as part of the adoption.
My adoption and the adoptions of my other Navajo and Ojibwe brothers and sisters occurred prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (http://www.nicwa.org/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act/).
I find it disappointing Joe G. Bennalley, Judge, Trial Court of the Navajo Tribe who signed off on my adoption to an anglo Mormon couple who were moving the next day to Canada failed to state my birth date, a link to my biological parents by naming them and also failed to enroll me as a member into the Navajo Nation and even made it quite clear by stating by my name "Leland Pachecko Kirk, C# A Minor".
The "C#" is where my Navajo Census Number should have been.
I also find it disappointing to know the depth of knowledge my anglo adopted parents knew about my biological Navajo family and still failed to follow through on getting my birth certificate. All these made it incredibly difficult to connect the dots during my 22 years of research.

Most of how I connected the dots were through hospital records I had to travel to Gallup New Mexico and request in person at the Gallup Indian Medial Center Health Records Department. I had to read between the lines, create a timeline of events based on those records, learn how to ask questions about my whereabouts. Prior to the internet and the world wide web, I wrote several letters to the Catholic churches in Navajoland. I wrote to Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Fort Defiance, All Saints Parish in Ganado and several Pastors and Reverends to find out more information all without replies but I kept on with it throughout the years.

With the internet becoming available and as more records becoming available and then social networks, especially FACEBOOK, then the research took on a new expedited life. I first found out about The Real ID Act and how it affected me not having a birth certificate when my wallet was lifted in December 2009 on a bus in Los Angeles. As I returned home I emptied my pockets in my shorts just to find out my wallet was gone. I had gone shopping at the 99 Cent Only Store on Wilshire and Fairfax and then rode the bus back with several bags of groceries. Both hands were full as I rode the bus and no, I did not see or feel who took my wallet, just that when I got home it was missing. I then went to the California DMV on Cole and Waring Ave in Hollywood to apply for a California Drivers License and found out that I had to have a birth certificate. The drivers license lost had been issued from Utah so in January 2010 I travelled back to Salt Lake to get a replacement. Little did I know that the Real ID Act would be enacted on January 1, 2010 requiring "legal presence" or an original State Issued birth certificate. That January 2010 visit to the Utah DMV I found out about the Real ID Act and thought that my mormon baptism record would suffice as I had used it previously at the same DMV years earlier.
Off to the "big and spacious building" called the LDS Church Office Building I went. Once there I was informed I had to get my baptisimal racord from my "home Ward. Well, I haven't attended the LDS Church since the 80's when I went to see if organized religion was for me or not. Found out back then, it's not for me. Not that I don't believe in a diety, higher power, energy because I do. The LDS Church just isn't for me. Sure it was part of my upbringing and every time I return to see my anglo adopted parents I attend their Ward only because that's their rule when visiting them. So you see, me going to my "home Ward" really wasn't going to happen and that baptism record would not have helped.

So, back to California I went and then realized by May 2010, I didn't have any legal documents, no State issued Identification or Drivers License and no Birth Certificate. My Navajo Nation Adoption papers were worthless because of the missing information (birthdate, census number, and birth parents names). This is when I really started to get worried because then I couldn't go to the Credit Union, out with friends, or fly, well I could on Delta because one of my friends is a flight attendant. I couldn't even use a credit card because, guess what? You have to prove your identity with a plastic card Identification or Drivers License issued by one of the 50 U.S. States. In May 2010 I went back to Utah with all the documentation and research I'd accrued since then and they allowed me to get a paper copy of a temporary Utah Drivers License. I soon found out this was not honored anywhere. Another worthless piece of paper issued by a government entity, that I paid for.

I started to really research on the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Ancestry.com, Google, ect. I had to start to understand how to use the internet for family research and what keywords to use, what to ask, how to phrase my questions to get the desired answer. I had to learn how to use property tax records that I'd used as a researcher to find family records for the KIRK and PACHECO names and potential family members. Then one day, just out of the blue, I realized I could use FACEBOOK the same way and there were hundreds of millions of people on FACEBOOK, could people on the Navajo Nation reservation be on FACEBOOK? I typed "Kirk Arizona" in the search area and pressed the search icon. Sure enough, guess what popped up? People named KIRK in ARIZONA. That was my first introduction to understanding how to manipulate FACEBOOK for my new cause. At this point I didn't quite reach out because I didn't know what to say but at least I knew it was there.

I still tried to go the goverment way via the State of Arizona and State of New Mexico through the suggestion of the supervisor at the Utah DMV. My adopted parents told me I had been born in Albuquerque. Found out later, there really is no documentation. New Mexico Vital Records took my money repeatedly and never wrote back, nothing. So I went with Arizona Vital Records. I paid several fees, emailed, telephoned, wrote letters, sent in all my documentation and finally had to pay more fees to finally get... (drum roll) an Arizona "Certificate of No Birth" in December 2010. Yup. After thousands of hours of research and almost 21 years of research another government issued paper worth nothing although it cost me dearly in legal fees, state fees and notary fees. It wasn't until I went back to Utah and had my famous Utah DMV experience:
"UTAH DMV Evil or Good? You tell me...I'm Illegal...or not. I'm NAVAJO!"
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=165603423489450
that I realized the Navajo Nation had it's own Vital Statistics Office, and that's when things finally started to fall in place. Well not quite. I had some problems with them so I decided, what the heck, I can call the Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley. Well, surprise, the Navajo Nation presidency changed in January and I ended up talking to my natural cousin. Yup. She was related to the KIRKs and was able to use her office, Constituent Services Unit, to help me. Along the way she directed me to other Navajo relatives. My Uncle, my mother's half brother, and his wife helped the most along with Cyndy guiding my path. My Uncle even wrote to the Navajo Nation Vital Statistics, called them, and visited them in person, He also went with his wife to look for my mother's grave.

All in all, I met great people along the way. A representative from the National Archives (NARA) in Perris California was also instrumental. I had pretty much figured out a timeline, created an onine pedigree chart on "Family Echo" to keep the names of relatives straight and had started my Facebook Page and Blog by then. So when I talked NARA, I could refer back to my notes (blog, page and pedigree) and ask yes and no questions to her. After she realized that I knew most of the information, on March 18, 2011 at 4:56 p.m. she sent me an email. It might have been a strategic move, after 5 p.m. they were closed so I was unable to send an email back or call. She emailed me all the information I needed to lobby to get my Navajo Nation Birth Certificate and Certificate of Navajo Indian Blood. Success happened on April 9, 2011, a Saturday. Alisia Milford from the Window Rock Navajo Nation Vital statistics called me as I was attending a conference where I was to talk to U.S. Census Director Robert M. Groves but he ended up a no show due to the Federal Government almost shutting down Friday April 8, 2011. I ended up talking to Chai Feldblum, Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission instead. I discussed my employment issues, showed her my worthless paper copy of a Utah Drivers License & she was shocked. I also submitted changes to The REAL ID ACT to her...documented in my note:
My Additions/Amendment suggestion/ reasoning to THE REAL ID ACT of 2005 submitted to Chai Feldblum, U.S.Commissioner of the EEOC
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=174986269217832

In April my Facebook Page was read over 11,000 times by readers (THANK YOU). Again I did get verbally notified I was a member of the Navajo Nation April 9th & on April 14th I received my NN Birth Affidavit and Certificate of Navajo Indian Blood. Then I applied for California ID & then in on May 17th I applied for a Drivers License. There was a bit of a problem with the paper copy of that worthless Utah Drivers License. I ended up having to call/email Nannette Rolfe (Director) and Jill Laws (Deputy Director) of the Utah DMV and Jill faxed the documentation needed to the California DMV for me to get my Drivers License. Wednesday May 25, 2011 I received my plastic card issued by the California DMV called a Drivers License.

It took a village, almost a city of people who helped me along the way, so many it would take a huge entry just to thank everyone. I've thanked most of them individually and if I missed you. Please know I am grateful and thankful for your help, suggestions and assistance along the way. One great lesson I learned is people will help if you ask. Knowing what to ask, how to form the question so someone else understands what you seek is also a learned tool. I am amazed at all the people to had the attitude of "What would you like me to do?" and "How can I help?" Thank you.

After all the drama...I think I deserve a lifetime acheivement award:

May 26, 2011
Me with an Emmy trophy at the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences.
NO It's not mine, just thought it would be a funny picture.
LOL, here's a picture of me with an EMMY at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences yesterday. No it's not mine, just me in a picture with one.
Thought it would be humorous to include the picture.

Thank you for reading my blog/page.
Now this blog/page is to help others. It takes a village.
Please LIKE my page, share with those who need to know. If you have any questions or comments, please don't be shy, ask, or state them. Thanks again!

Wouldn't you know, just as I'm finalizing documentation it's THE END OF THE WORLD!!! EEEEK!!!!

by Leland P. Morrill
Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 11:29pm
Just kidding! LMAO.

This week was rather tumultous. Even though I now have a plastic California Identification Card, I still did not have my Drivers License. Tuesday May 17, 2011 I went to the California DMV down by USC on Hope Street and waited in line. While in line, I read the entire Drivers License Manual. I had arrived around 12:30 p.m. thinking that would be enough time to get in to take the test, by 4:00 p.m. I was getting worried that the cut off time had passed. NOT SO! I made it by minutes, 4:25 p.m. I took my mugshot, forgot to pose like I'd been trained to for media events so my picture was less than what I wanted but still it's my mug.

Wouldn't you know, just as I was entering the testing area, my cellphone rings! My little brother Shaun. LOL. Well, he didn't know, but immediately I saw the NO CELLPHONES sign. After turning off my phone the DMV person yelled: "NO CELLPHONES!!! TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!" I immediately stated I didn't even know it was on, which I really didn't. I then took the multiple "guess" test quickly and was done in 10 minutes. Hmmmm yup, so I rechecked my answers thinking it couldn't be that easy and I sure didn't want to fail so I rechecked one more time, I handed in my test and then had to prove I had a previous drivers license. I pulled out that worthless paper copy the Utah DMV Fairpark asked for & immediatlely the DMV Tester said "I can't accept that"

My old Utah paper Temporary Drivers License. It's worthless to the California DMV and as an ID "card" No one accepts it!

Well, I kind of knew it and started to plead my case. He listened, thought about it and said, well you passed but I can't accept that. Talk to a supervisor downstairs at window 21.
Window 21 wasn't labeled so I immediately asked as it was now about 5:00 p.m., closing time. I got a supervisor around 5:15 p.m. Same story, but she said Utah DMV could send a clearance letter. So I immediately called Nanette Rolfe's cellphone number. Nanette is the Utah Department of Public Safety Drivers License Division Director and left a message. I did the same on her work phone number and also called Jill Laws' work phone number and left a message. Jill is the Deputy Director of the Utah Drivers License Division.

I was really upset because here I'd paid the fee, passed the test and one more hurdle. Then my little brother texted me and I sent back a "bitchy" text: "What do you want?" Actually it was uncalled for but I hadn't blown off steam yet and he was an immediate recipient. Funny how sometimes you lash back at those who you love the most. Sorry Shaun, if you reading this. Anyway, he called me on it in his colorful language via text & made me laugh but I was still mad.

I finally talked to him, Still upset and he offered to help. That's what I found so amazing. Sometimes people ask to help you. I knew I needed to scan my CIB, Certificate of Indian Blood, and Brith Affidavit and sent those off in an email as a PDF to Nanette and Jill so off I went to FedEx/Kinkos. Guess who was working? Jesus...of course! He actually helped me quite a bit because the scanner jammed up, my USB flash drive wasn't recognized by their computer, so we sent it to my email. I also sent it to Shaun and my best friend Troy just in case. I've learned to sometimes overcompensate and send files to multiple people and myself for an electronic timestamp.

I actually didn't know Jills email address but knew Nanettes. So, I kind of guessed it. Good thing because Jill called me as I was working out a housing issue the next morning, Wednesday May 18, 2011. Jill said she faxed the California DMV the clearance letter and also sent me a PDF just in case. She knows my style. Very cool.

Utah DMV Clearance Letter...Thanks Jill for sending it so quickly!!

After a meeting with housing off to the DMV I went. Upon arrival, they had my paperwork ready. Whatever it was Jill sent, it got their attention. THANKS JILL! I now have an Interim Drivers License issued by California DMV, now awaiting the plastic card.

YAY. My California Interim Drivers License.

I've also now applied for two jobs with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahilla Indian Tribe. Both position required a California Drivers License, I'm hoping to get one of them. Cynthia at the Wilshire office here in Los Angeles gave me an application and an internal job posting list of positions she thought I'd be qualified for once the drivers license was issued. So cross your fingers and toes people! I need a job just like everyone else!

I do have to thank Shaun, my little brother for asking to help and being a sounding board about my frustrations. My friend Troy has also heard my frustrations and concerns. Troy has been through the entire twenty two years of my research. To him, for being a sounding board, suggesting things I'd never think of, and just plain being a good friend, which says alot about his good character, patience, and level of friendship. Thanks Troy!

Also, later, Shaun called me to tell me there is a girl here in North Hollywood, a daughter of a client, who is Cherokee and going through the same Real ID Act of 2005 documentation nightmare I am now exiting. Shaun asked me if I'd help her. OF COURSE!
So, if your reading this, call me! Oh, and your mother Robin has my phone number. Just sayin. I'm here, and have plenty of fresh knowledge and willing to help.

Thank you all for reading my entry/blog. This has been a great diary and I've had to refer to it during telephone calls to tell the Navajo Nation Vital Statistics office, The National Archives, Navajo Relatives, The Arizona Vital Statistics Office of my progress. Blogging and also creating an online pedigree chart accessable by any computer has literally saved many a conversation and aided in defending my cause and helping me move forward. So, if you are in this process, please write down everything because, you can always refer back to it!

Also, please LIKE my Facebook Page. READ my notes. Remember, this blog contains just my notes and has a PayPal feature where you can donate :)
This process is greater than just me and others will need help. Perhaps this can be a way to assist others and once I get myself back onto my financial feet will be able to set up a nonprofit to help others.

You may notice, I also will have EBAY items up for sale on my Facebook Page. Feel free to purchase those items as well.

Above all, This is now to help others. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas for me to write about pertaining to The Real ID Act of 2005, Certificate of Indian Blood, Native Affidavit of Birth...PLEASE, suggest! I welcome it!

Peace out!

My Identity returns!

by Leland P. Morrill Adopted Native American Citizenship Affected by The REAL ID Act of 2005 on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 3:31am
Great news!
My plastic California state issued Identification plastic card came in the mail.

Left: my paper State issued Identification. Glad I don't have to carry that anymore because no-one accepts that for ID & then I have to continually explain it is State issued Identification.
Right: my plastic State issued Identification card.

A sense of completion and accomplishment. The ability to be part of reality returned. Every time I look at that card I understand freedom in a different way.

Isn't it amazing how every teenager and adult throughout the United States takes a plastic identification card for granted? Most will never know the value placed on that one card until they cannot have one by virtue of not having a birth certificate, proof of birth caused by one act, and anti-terrorism act called The Real ID Act of 2005.

Here is some review:
H.R. 418: REAL ID Act of 2005
1. TITLE II—IMPROVED SECURITY FOR DRIVERS’ LICENSES AND PERSONAL
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
Minimum document requirements:
The person’s date of birth.
Documentation showing the person’s date of birth

2. TEMPORARY DRIVERS’ LICENSES AND17 IDEll,NTIFICATION CARDS that expire one year after issuance.
"(i) IN GENERAL.—If a person presents evidence under any of clauses (v) through (ix) of subparagraph (B), the State may only issue a temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card to the person.
(ii) EXPIRATION DATE.—A temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card issued pursuant to this subparagraph shall be valid only during the period of time of the applicant’s authorized stay in the United States or, if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one year."

The last part of that gets me, an EXPIRATION DATE. Read that paragraph again:

(ii) EXPIRATION DATE.—A temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card issued pursuant to this subparagraph shall be valid only during the period of time of the applicant’s authorized stay in the United States or, if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one year."

Can you imagine going into your local State Department of Motor Vehicles and leaving knowing you only have one year to prove you exist? Realizing the Nation who adopted you out, the Judge in who signed off your adoption, your adopted parents all failed in their own part to document you enough with a Census Number, Certificate of Indian Blood and/or Birth Certificate/Affidavit. In this day and age it determines what you can do and where you can go. It limits your freedom.

Think about all the places you show your State issued Identification Card, or just count in your mind the times you've used it in the past week. What about that purchase at the store where you used a credit card? At the store when you purchased a bottle of wine? While in line to go dancing at a club? At dinner in a restaurant while paying and the waiter asks for identification? That's freedom that's taken away once you lose the ability to have a State issued Identification Card or Drivers License that most people take for granted.

Now think of it on a bigger scale. What if you need your Identification card for employment? Yes you have to prove your identification to work legally in this country. We live in a modern day Depression. If you became unemployed, what type of job can you do without identification? What desperate measures would you do to survive because you didn't have ID?

Here in Los Angeles, you can go into certain neighborhoods and people sell ID's to you. Think how tempting it would be if after one year you were unable to prove your legal status, your birth and you were forced to purchase Identification?

I'm so glad that my California Identification Card arrived. I feel alive again. I wiped out all my savings, my 401K, everything because of the research, paying for legal expenses. I stopped living life and enjoying it as much because there were only limited places, things I could do, I lost many freedoms because of not having that card. I also lost the ability to go to school but not the ability to learn.

I learned to write, hone my research skills, how to utilize the internet, verbalize where I am at in my quest to obtain a goal, how to get other people to understand my plight, where my focus is, and to ask for help. I learned to ask. I learned people are willing to help if you prepare them and can verbalize what you need them to do. I realized I understood verbalizing when my biological cousin Matthew came to visit, he asked me: What can I do? I didn't have an answer then because I hadn't prepared for that question. No one had asked me that. That question totally threw me off guard. Learn to understand when someone asks that question, they may want to hear you verbalize a task for them to do. They may not know how to help because your process is foreign to them. Learning to tell some one to help you and what you need is something that I learned at that moment and to realize I need to be prepared for that question.

Now that I have my Identification card, I'm able to focus on me. I get to move forward rather than being stuck in the desperate process of keeping my identity, knowing my identity has an expiration date.

My new focus is now to regain my financial stability, employment, the focus on entrepreneurship etc. Right now during this modern day Depression, I need to focus on me on moving past when someone pickpocked my wallet and my identity was put into question.
Thank you for reading!

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Leland P. Morrill