Press conference Indigenous Border Summit Thursday

Members of the media are invited to a press conference to announce the Indigenous Peoples' Border Summit of the Americas II
Time: Thursday, October 25, 2007, 11 a.m.
Place: San Xavier District Community Center, 2018 W. San Xavier Rd., Tohono O'odham Nation
Speakers: San Xavier District Chairman Austin Nunez and Tohono O'odham Border Summit organizer Mike Flores

The Indigenous Peoples’ Border Summit of the Americas II will be held from November 7-10, 2007 at the San Xavier Community Center, 2018 W. San Xavier Rd, Tohono O’odham Nation

The four-day Border Summit will host speakers and provide an opportunity for testimony on the militarization of US/Mexico and US/Canada borders, with a focus on Indigenous Peoples' right of mobility in their ancestral territories.
Mike Flores, Tohono O'odham summit organizer, said, "It is necessary for Tohono O'odham and other Indigenous Peoples of the border regions to collectively address the adverse impacts that are increasingly occurring on tribal lands.
"The Border Summit of the Americas II will provide us the opportunity to do just that," said Flores, member of the International Indian Treaty Council.
San Xavier District Chairman Austin Nunez joins Flores in welcoming Indigenous Peoples to the Border Summit on Tohono O'odham land.
During the Border Summit, Indigenous Peoples will discuss the impacts on Indigenous Peoples of borders throughout the world, especially for women, children and the elderly, and new visa and passport policies. Further, the impacts of border regulations on Indigenous Peoples' ceremonies and cultures will be discussed.
The International Indian Treaty Council will host a panel on human rights and the United Nations. The imprisonment of migrant children in Texas, other migrant detention centers, impacts on the environment and experimental spy technology along the US/Mexico border will be among the topics. Further, the right of mobility of Native people in Canada, along the northern border will be presented.
Following the successful Border Summit in 2006, the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation will again host the summit this year. The United Nations encouraged the Border Summit to be held for a second time.

bordersummit2007@yahoo.com
Mike Flores: email: Michaelflores_@hotmail.com
Website:
http://www.indigenousbordersummitamericas2007.blogspot.com/