"Paiute Indians Assert Legacy on Occupied Wildlife Refuge Land"

"BURNS, Ore. — Hundreds of residents crammed into a building at the Harney County Fairgrounds here on Wednesday night, far surpassing the capacity of the rows of brown metal folding chairs set up on a concrete floor, to talk in often deeply emotional terms about their community — and just who should be in charge of its destiny.

An armed takeover of a federally owned wildlife refuge outside town, into its fifth day as the meeting began, was the context and the reason for their gathering. The protesters have said they acted with elaborate justification in seizing the headquarters buildings of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge because the federal government, they said, had violated law in creating the refuge and taking land from ranch families.

The response to that on Wednesday, during 90 minutes of small town-democracy here in east-central Oregon, was less focused on the United States Constitution than on how this one small place can govern itself and defend its values."

Kirk Johnson reports for the New York Times January 6, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Confronting the Oregon Standoff, What Would Teddy Have Done?" (Dot Earth/NYT)

"Fear Factor Rising for Federal Workers as Refuge Occupation Goes Unchallenged" (Dot Earth/NYT)

"Weighing Oregon Standoff Solutions, from Arrests to Birder Invasion" (Dot Earth/NYT)

"Burns Paiute Tribe: Militants Need To Get Off 'Our Land'" (Portland Oregonian)