CHARLESTOWN -- The Narragansett Indians opened an afternoon of
ceremonies marking the first anniversary of a state police raid to shut
down their smoke shop with dancing, singing and smoking a peace pipe.
About 100 people, including members of the Narragansett Tribe and other
tribes in the region, gathered at the smoke shop site on Route 2, where
one year ago state troopers conducted a raid in an effort to stop the
sale of tax-free cigarettes.
Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and a tribal medicine man held a ceremony
called the blessing of the circle, during which they danced around a
fire and gave offerings to their creator.
Hiawatha Brown, a tribal councilman who was arrested in last year's
raid, said the ceremony was about protecting the tribe's sovereignty and
letting the state know "we are here and we're going nowhere."
The Narragansetts opened the shop on July 12, 2003. Two days later,
state troopers moved in to shut it down, resulting in the arrests of
several tribe members, including Thomas, and several injuries. The
violent confrontation was filmed by television news crews.
The state claimed the smoke shop broke Rhode Island law because it did
not levy state taxes on the tobacco sales. The federally recognized
tribe argued that as a sovereign nation, it is free from the state's
taxation laws.
A federal judge ruled last December that the state acted properly in
shutting down the shop. The tribe has appealed the ruling.
"Our position is we were violated, unneeded and unprovoked, by the state
of Rhode Island," Thomas said this week.
The blessing of the circle ceremony was to be followed by another
remembrance event on the grounds of the Narragansett Indian Health
Center.
"There were non-tribal people there at the time of the raid. We believe
they should be part of" the ceremonies, Thomas said.
Authorities confiscated 160,000 cigarettes in the raid. The shop has
been converted to a sovereignty headquarters, where the Narragansetts
distribute literature about the tribe and its history.
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