Support for Longest Walk from Big Mountain

Yaa'at'eeh Sh' Dine'eh,
(Good Greetings My Relatives)

By Bahe
In the late 70s not long after Wounded Knee 1973 and the capture of political prisoner Leonard Peltier, Indigenous nations of Turtle Island (western hemisphere) came together to do a spiritual walk across the US from San Francisco to Washington D.C. The 1978 Longest Walk was to bring attention to eleven, anti-Indian legislation that were about to go before the US Congress. These legislations were supported by racist, white organizations and their elected representatives. Legislations were intented to carry out numerous aspects of racism and inhumanities like abolishing all Indian treaties and the sterlization of Indian women.

Read more ...

http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/02/support-for-longest-walk-from-big.html

Photo: Willie Lonewolf, Navajo Ute, leads Shoshone and Longest Walkers through Austin, Nevada, Wed., Feb. 27 on the Longest Walk 2 Northern Route. Photo Brenda Norrell

Police arrest DQ University Students

Police arrest DQ University students, who recently hosted the Longest Walk2

Watch arrests on Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18jjkTK9Vxs
For more information:
http://www.myspace.com/dquniversity
Chris Yazzie
530-554-8377 yazzieyazzie@yahoo.com
Manuel
408-914-1079
Lupita Torres
408-529-3849 peetuhpocket@yahoo.com
More info here as well: http://www.indybay.org//
Yolo Deputies Arrest Tribal Students At DQ University
Three Charged With Trespassing
February 20, 2008
YOLO COUNTY — Students say they were living in dorms on tribal land, but on Wednesday they were arrested for trespassing.
It's all part of an on-going rift at the former DQ Tribal University.
Michael Frease captured a video on the tribal land of the former DQ University, as Yolo County Sheriff's arrested several students for trespassing. "He's lived here longer than 30 days they're supposed to provide him with a notice of eviction, they didn't do that," Frease said.
Back in 2005 D-Q University lost it's accreditation after the former administration was found to be mishandling funds, now free cultural classes are still being held here, but it's a constant struggle between the faculty, board and the students to get the university up and running again.
The rift has gotten so strong that three of the board members made the decision to call law enforcement and have them make the arrests. But not all board members agreed with the decision. In fact, some weren't even notified. "As board members trying to rebuild this college we've been set with the task of meeting with different government agencies and different people to try and straighten out a lot of things that had gone wrong here and that was something I was very willing to do and something I'll continue to try to do but fighting against indian people is not what I signed on for," said Board of Trustees Chairman, Calvin Headrick.
The members who called for the arrest say the students were blocking them from doing what they needed to do to move forward. But students like Lupita Torres, say rebuilding D.Q University is a common goal, and they should be working together. "We're here for the future generations. We want our college to be here. This is the only tribal college in California so they can't scare us out of being here."
Copyright © 2008, KTXL
DQU UPDATE !
CHRIS, DAN AND MANUEL ARE ALL BACK AT DQU.
Here is the copy of the news-release from The Vanguard :
Breaking News: Three Students Arrested for Trespassing at DQ University
The Vanguard responding to reports that students at DQ University had been arrested for allegedly trespassing went to the campus this afternoon to find it for the most abandoned and empty. However, at the entrance a number of the students who witnessed events spoke to us.
One of the students, a female, told the Vanguard:
"Early this morning there were arrests that happened, three of our students were arrested for trespassing supposedly."
The Sheriff's deputies entered the grounds this morning. Some of the students came out to find out what was going on and were arrested at that time. But other students who remained inside the dorms were neither arrested nor told to leave according to those who stayed behind.
"The cops they went around through the building without a warrant and they were searching for more students. All the doors are locked right now."
According to a student identified as Steve:
"I woke up and some of the other guys they woke me up, board members were standing outside and we all tried to get everyone together in the dining hall... As we were having our meeting the cops came, sheriff I guess, Yolo County and we started locking the doors because we didn't want them to come in."
However, three of the guys went out to talk to the Sheriff's Deputies.
"Those three guys went out to talk to the cops and see why they were here. I was on the second floor with a video camera."
They were just trying to figure out what was going on.
"The cops they've been here before, but they've never arrested anyone."
There were separate complaints about use of force. The student had received a text from a fellow classmate saying that the Sheriff's had arrested him.
The female student told the Vanguard:
"They were very forceful. Five cops took him down and he's a very skinny, passive, gentle young person and he didn't even resist or anything at all. They just arrested him along with two other students."
Steve agreed.
"They started really forcefully gathering students, arresting them, taking them down... One of the guys, he was just trying to explain to the cops what was going on here and how we had just as much right to be here just as anybody else, because it's native land and everything... So he was just out there explaining to the cops, they didn't come with a warrant, they didn't come with any legal papers, they said they had some, but we kept asking for it but they never showed it to us."
When the students refused to leave, they were arrested.
"Five guys took down Chris, he's a pretty skinny guy and they were very forceful with him."
The events of today are part of a continuing dispute between the students and the new board.
"This is part of an ongoing psychological warfare being conducted by people on the board that for some reason or other don't want us running programs here or being on campus."
According to the female student,
"I'm not sure why trespassing, we have as much right to be here as the board does. There's not any law or treaty that states that we cannot be here. So I'm not sure what grounds they were arrested on."
In 2005 the school lost it accreditation and since then the board and the students have been struggling to get along.
Last Saturday tensions increased during a public board meeting when the students tried to bring cameras to the public board meeting.
"This Saturday we had a board meeting and they attacked us. It was quite funny because they didn't want the video cameras in. We're allowed to have video cameras in a public forum, a public board meeting. So we're not quite sure what that was about."
Members of the board allegedly assaulted the students grabbing them by the arms and by the camera. One of the witnesses believes that a student has actually filed charges against the board for that alleged assault.
Meanwhile the students told the Vanguard that they were not ordered to not return, so we shall see how this situation continues to develop.
The Vanguard will continue to monitor this situation for any updates.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
http://www.indigenousaction.org/ - Independent Indigenous Media

Good morning from Lake Tahoe and the Longest Walk Northern Route

A beautiful day for the walkers and runners yesterday over Echo Pass. The sun was shining, the temperature in the 50s. Our Navajo Ute runner Willie Lonewolf put on snowshoes for the first time, and make part of the journey on top of the huge snowbanks because there was no place to run on the side of the winding mountain road. At Strawberry, a small store donated hot dogs and beans for the 80 walkers and runners going up the Sierra Nevadas. Washoe have joined us here for prayers. They have made special requests for the bears, coming down from the mountains and being shot by residents. The bears have been coming down the mountain for water because of the global warming and lack of water on top.
Please join us dancers, singers and community members:
Tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 18:
Social Gathering and Powwow
2 pm
Carson Colony Gym
Carson City
Listen live to us, at http://www.earthcycles.net/
10 am to 2 pm (check schedules for time changes)
Join us for any length of time, Hwy 50 east, headed to Western Shoshone.
On the Longest Walk Northern Route, Brenda Norrell

Good morning from the Longest Walk, northern route at Pollock Pines, Calif.

Long distance runners on the Longest Walk Northern Route ran into Pollock Pines, California late Friday, with snow piled high on the sides of the road. Incredible fortitude by Miwok, Cheyenne-Arapaho, Washoe and Japanese runners, who each ran 10 to 15 miles at a stretch up the cold mountain. The runners are now headed to Lake Tahoe and will stop for prayer at a burial ground near Strawberry. We are in high country now, but the sun is shining today. The food has been wonderful from the Miwok Nation at Shingle Springs. The Pollock Pines Community Center gave us a warm place to sleep.
Thanks to all of you for the contributions of warm clothing. The runners still need thermal underwear, large and extra large, 0-degree sleeping bags and camping mats to sleep on.
Thanks to the Miwok Nation, we have plenty of water and snacks. The Longest Walk northern route will arrive in Carson City, Nevada, late Sunday night. There will be a powwow in Carson City on Monday.
There have been prayers, blessings and sweatlodges the last few days and everyone on the northern route is focused on the sacred gift of the walk and healing for their familes, communities and Mother Earth. Listen to us live 10 am to 2 pm:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
On the Longest Walk, northern route, Brenda Norrell

Longest Walk 2, Live from DQ

We're broadcasting live from the Longest Walk 2 at DQ tonight. We'll have the steady stream going by Monday night:
http://www.earthcycles.net/

No One is Illegal Radio: Borders and Freedom: From Gaza to Texas, Lakotah Republic and Vancouver

http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/02/no-one-is-illegal-radio-february-2008.html
No One Is Illegal Radio reports about the frontline struggles for justice, dignity and self-determination by migrants, refugees and indigenous peoples.
On this month's edition of No One Is Illegal Radio:
-- Border Crossing Intifada in Gaza –On January 23, 2008, Palestinians living in Gaza tore down the border wall at the Rafah crossing, temporarily breaking the Israeli siege, and permitting the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt to secure basic necessities. For perspective and first-hand accounts, we speak with Mohamed Omer in Rafah, and Rami Elmeghari in Gaza City.
-- Lipan Apache resist the Border Wall --On February 7, 2008, an elder of the Lipan Apache in southern Texas was summoned to appear in court as part of a process to confiscate borderlands to build the wall between Mexico and the USA. In response, the Lipan Apache have sued the Department of Homeland Security. We speak with Margo Tamez, of the Lipan Apache Women's Community Defense.
-- Republic of Lakotah --On December 17, 2007, 2007, members of the Lakota Freedom Delegation announced their unilateral withdrawal from all agreements and treaties with the United States of America. The "Republic of Lakotah" (or Lakotah Oyate) encompasses parts of North & South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. We speak with Teghiya Kte Canupa, a founding member of the Republic of Lakotah, and a headsman from the village of Wounded Knee.
And, on the upload:
-- No Olympics on stolen native land! --On January 31, 2008, two native youth warriors active in organizing against the scheduled 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler visited Montreal. We hear extended audio excerpts of a press conference at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, and a public talk at the Native Friendship Center of Montreal, by Kanahus Pellkey of the Native Youth Movement, and Dustin Johnson of the Ts'mksiyen Nation in "British Columbia".
-> LISTEN to the February 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=26498
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
-- Border Crossing Intifada in Gaza --Gaza remains under occupation and Gaza remains under siege. But, on January 23, 2008, in an inspiring act of collective defiance, and courage, Palestinians living in Gaza tore down the metal and concrete walls at the Rafah border crossing and traveled freely to Egypt in the hundreds of thousands. They temporarily broke the siege imposed by apartheid Israel with their own hands and feet (literally). On this month's show, we speak with Mohamed Omer, the publisher of the Rafah Today website, and Rami Elmegahri, a journalist and translator based in Gaza City.
For more information:
- Rafah Today (Mohamed Omer): http://www.rafahtoday.org/- "Gaza scrambles for fuel as border forced open" (Rami Elmeghari): http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9256.shtml- "Fueling disaster" (Rami Elmeghari): http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9281.shtml- "Power of the people" (Nada Elia): http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9264.shtml- "Down goes the wall" (Laila El-Haddad): http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9255.shtml
-- Lipan Apache resist Border Wall in southern Texas --On February 7, 2008, Eloisa Tamez, an elder of the Lipan Apache in the international border region of Southern Texas, has been summoned to court as part of a process to confiscate Apache lands to allow for the building of the border wall between Mexico and the United States. In response, members of the Lipan Apache are suing the Department of Homeland Security and promising to resist all efforts to confiscate their lands. On this month's show, we speak with Margo Tamez, the daughter of Eloisa Tamez and a member of the Lipan Apache Women's Community Defense.
From the interview: "What's happening right now is a major moment for indigenous peoples in this hemispehere, especially in the USA, because it shifts radically the terrain of indigenous politics, of transborder politics, of awareness of militarization in your own backyard." -- Margo Tamez.
For more information:Homeland Security sues Lipan Apache:http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2008/01/homeland-security-sues-lipan-apache.html
-- The Republic of Lakotah –On December 17, 2007, 2007, members of the Lakota Freedom Delegation to Washington, DC announced their unilateral withdrawal from all agreements and treaties with the United States of America. The "Republic of Lakotah" (or "Lakotah Oyate") encompasses parts of North & South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. We speak with Teghiya Kte Canupa, a founding member of the Republic of Lakotah, and a headsman from the village of Wounded Knee.
For more information:http://www.republicoflakotah.com/http://www.lakotaoyate.net/
-- No Olympics on stolen native land! --On January 31, 2008, two native youth warriors active in organizing against the scheduled 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler visited Montreal as part of an awareness-raising tour of the Great Lakes and East Coast. They spoke at a press conference at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, as well as at a public talk at the Native Friendship Center of Montreal. On this month's show, we hear from Kanahus Pellkey of the Native Youth Movement, and Dustin Johnson of the Ts'mksiyen Nation in "British Columbia".
Press conference excerpts from the Olympic Stadium recorded and produced by Dave Parker of the CKUT Community News Collective. Kanahus and Dustin's talk at the Native Friendship Center recorded and produced by Charlie O'Connor of the CKUT Community News Collective.
"This is about land and freedom like any other struggle in the world. We're calling for an international boycott of the Olympics." -- Kanahus Pellkey of the Native Youth Movement (NYM)
"This is not just a racial struggle, but a class struggle as well. We have to unite to confront the common enemy."-- Dustin Johnson, Ts'mksiyen Nation
For more information:http://www.no2010.com/http://harrietspirit.blogspot.com/http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/02/2010media.html
LISTEN to the February 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=26498
No One Is Illegal Radio broadcasts live on the first Thursday of every month, from 5-6pm (EST), as part of "Off the Hour", produced in collaboration with the community news collective at CKUT. We're at 90.3 FM in Montreal, and http://www.ckut.ca/ on the web. Starting in January 2008, No One Is Illegal Radio will also be part of the Rabble Podcast Network: http://www.rabble.ca/rpn
--> If you are interested in re-broadcasting our programs or interviews, please get in touch at nooneisillegal@gmail.com ... Community and alternative stations across North America re-broadcast excerpts of No One Is Illegal Radio monthly.
--> Listen to our January 2008 show – including interviews with Brenda Norrell (Tuscon, Arizona, publisher of the Censored Blog), Mike Wilson (indigenous O'odham humanitarian worker), Jay Johnson-Castro (Del Rio, Texas, member of Border Ambassadors, and Nandita Sharma (author of "Home Economics: Nationalism and the Making of "Migrant Workers" in Canada"): http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/01/no-one-is-illegal-radio-january-2008.html
--> No One Is Illegal Radio's 2007 shows are archived at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/12/no-one-is-illegal-radio-2007-archive.html
No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police brutality, detentions and deportations, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.
Tune-in live to No One Is Illegal Radio on the 1st Thursday of every month, from 5-6pm, as part of CKUT's "Off The Hour".--> You can listen live in the MONTREAL-area at 90.3FM.--> You can listen ANYWHERE online at http://www.ckut.ca/--> Part of the Rabble Podcast Network: http://www.rabble.ca/rpn--> If you are interested in re-broadcasting our programs or interviews, please get in touch.
INFO: 514-848-7583 -- nooneisillegal@gmail.comhttp://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/

PHOTO: "No One is Illegal" poster at protest of Maricopa Co. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Tucson. Photo Brenda Norrell

Jaguar protected at preserve south of the border

By Brenda Norrell

While the campaign of Bush and Chertoff continues for the US Apartheid Border Wall, there's good news from Mexico. In a joint effort of groups from north and south of the border, the Northern Jaguar Project in Sonora, Mexico, has reached its goal and was able to purchase land in order to maintain it as a preserve for the jaguar. Meanwhile in the US, the border wall in Arizona is already destroying the habitat and migrating ability of the jaguar.

Jaguar protected at preserve south of the border

Mexico does a better job of protecting the jaguar than the US

By Brenda Norrell

While the campaign of Bush and Chertoff continues for the US Apartheid Border Wall, there's good news from south of the border in the pristine wild lands of Sonora, Mexico. In a joint effort of groups from north and south of the border, the Northern Jaguar Project and Naturalia, the goal was reached to purchase more land for the reserve for the jaguar. (Please double-click to enlarge photo.)
Meanwhile in the US, the border wall in Arizona is already destroying the habitat and the migrating ability of the jaguar.

Censored News, on the great journey west

Dear friends,
Thanks to all of you for your kindness and encouragement during the past year which helped transform the Censored blog into a daily news website.

The Censored blog now begins with a clean slate, on a new journey west. Please come along and listen to the stories.
Today, a few old friends are on my mind. First, I remember Hopi Dan Evehema, who I met when I stopped by his daughter's house in 1996 on Hopiland. Dan had just finished protesting a backhoe digging through the village. It was raining and he was drenched. He was around 106 years old then. He sat me down and told me how things are. He wanted to make it clear that the traditional Hopi, the Sinom, never authorized the formation of the Hopi Tribal Council. Dan wanted to make sure that I understood that the traditional Hopi never gave approval for the coal mining on Black Mesa or any action that would lead to the relocation of Navajos.

Dan reminded me of the Hopi who were arrested, then imprisoned at Alcatraz, because they resisted colonization and were true sovereigns, without compromise in the ways of the spirit. Dan died when he was 108 years old in 1999.
There is another friend on mine on my mind today, a Navajo friend from Big Mountain on Navajoland. She was the first to tell me, "Corporations lie." It was decades ago and I was new at the news business. "Really?" I said surprised. Of course now I know that corporations lie to news reporters all the time.
Today, I'm also remembering Howard McKinley and how we used to sit on his porch at Fort Defiance, Arizona. "Tse Ho Tso, Meadow between the rocks," he would say before telling me how it was for Navajos in the early Twentieth Century when he was a Navajo boy. He remembered eating the yucca bananas and how the stone building down the road was filled with ice from Blue Canyon before summer came. He walked everywhere, and then walked right into the Spirit World when he was around 100 years old.
I also remember Dan Deschinny, spokesperson for the Navajo Medicine Men's Association and my cousin by marriage. When Dan died, it was hard for those who knew him to speak of him, remember him, because he had touched lives so deeply. I remember his songs and stories of horses, his reminder to each person of who they really are.
Finally, I remember all my Navajo neighbors in Crystal, New Mexico. I remember those who lived and died protecting those forests and mountains. There, in the Chuska Mountains, there are no doubt Navajo elderly who are alone today, with cold and snow whirling outside. I hope someone will remember to see if they have food for dinner and some wood chopped. Soon, it will be spring and the wild turkeys will once again be wandering down to the streams.
Now, the journey west.
Brenda Norrell

Photo: Hopi elder Dan Evehema, after protesting the destruction to the earth by a backhoe in his village. Photo Brenda Norrell

Longest Walk 2 Events Kickofff

The Longest Walk 2 events begin this weekend in the Bay Area, with a Sunrise Ceremony on Monday. Walkers leave on the northern and southern routes on Tuesday:
http://www.longestwalk.org/

Nogales residents: US building border wall on Mexico's land

Nogales residents want 'Wall of Shame' construction halted on Mexico's soil

By Brenda Norrell
Narcosphere

NOGALES, Mexico – Residents here say the US border wall construction has intruded twenty meters onto Mexico’s land and are urging a halt to the construction of the U.S. Apartheid Border Wall, being fought by Indigenous Peoples all along the US/Mexico border.

The Nogales site is located west of the Mariposas international border crossing at Nogales,, which is south of Tucson.
“A serious problem has resulted from the all powerful program to construct the 'Wall of Shame' by the U.S. government in this border,” said concerned residents Teresa Leal and Alejandro Castro in a statement.
“In Nogales, Sonora, they have flagrantly moved the International Boundary obelisk, which marks the boundary of our national geography in the area of Las Mariposas, about 3 kilometers west of the Gate No. 3.”

Read article ...

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2008/2/7/13814/63102

Chertoff being sued at Texas border

Expert legal team for Lipan Apache files
suit against Chertoff to halt land seizures

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A team of attorneys for Lipan Apache Eloisa Garcia Tamez filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday to halt the seizure of lands for the border wall. The lawsuit was filed by Peter Schey, director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, and a team from the South Texas Civil Rights Project.
Chertoff has acted in "flagrant disregard" of the laws of the United States, according to the suit.
The lawsuit, in part, states: "... plaintiff the United States and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff have acted in flagrant disregard of the laws of the United States in pushing forward their plan to build at least 70 miles of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley area in the vicinity of Roma, Rio Grande City, McAllen, Progreso, Mercedes, Harlingen, and Brownsville, Texas, including in their treatment of Dr. Tamez and the other property owners in the cases joined for hearing before this Court.
"Plaintiff the United States and Secretary Chertoff obviously are not authorized by either the Constitution or the Congress to seize land owned by cities, private property owners, and land-grant owners, in violation of federal laws. Yet this is precisely what it appears they are doing in their actions to immediately seize ownership of border properties."
Further, the lawsuit states that Chertoff has failed to enter into mandated consultation with Tamez and other landowners.
"Dr. Tamez and other property owners assert that Secretary Chertoff or his designees have engaged in NO consultation regarding 'this section' of the 2008 Appropriations Act, which inter alia encompasses the Secretary's new discretion NOT to place a border fence through Dr. Tamez's property or indeed any properties along the 70 miles the Secretary has focused on because he was previously mandated to do so by Congress in 2006."
Tamez is fighting the seizure of her three acres in El Calaboz. All along the Texas border, mayors and legislators have united in opposition to the border wall.
All along the South Texas border, cross border friendship and commerce is celebrated. In this economically-strapped region, people on both sides of the border cross frequently for shopping and eating in restaurants. The US/Mexico border wall now is a threat to the way of life here, and private property ownership.
The lawsuit states, "The Government's planned seizure and use of Dr. Tamez’s land, as well as its proposed border fence, would in fact have an adverse impact on cultural and quality of life issues mentioned in the 2008 Budget Act, and on the economic value of her real property interest, or this opposition would not be presented even though the Secretary of Homeland Security is acting unlawfully."
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Photo: Eloisa Tamez and daughter Margo on family land at El Calaboz. Photo Arnoldo Garcia.

Longest Walk 2, walking and listening across America

Morning Star Gali
mstargali@gmail.com
Julie Hernandez
memma3@yahoo.com
www.longestwalk.org

30th Anniversary of Historic Native American Rights March Inspires “The Longest Walk 2”

Hundreds To Embark On 5 Month Walk from Alcatraz to Washington D.C. for Environmental Protection and Native American Rights

American Indian dignitaries, religious leaders, environmental, and union groups will hold events to begin the Longest Walk 2 on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 11 -- 12. The trans-continental walk will call for environmental protection and support Native American rights.
More than 300 participants of the Longest Walk 2 will embark on a five-month journey on foot from San Francisco, arriving in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008.
American Indian Movement Co-founder Dennis J. Banks said, “From Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C., through the elements of the seasons, we shall walk; nothing shall deter us from completing our mission: All Life is Sacred, Protect Mother Earth.”
The Longest Walk 2 follows two routes, northern and a southern routes that will cover more than 8,000 miles in total, stopping each evening in communities along the way.
People from all over the world are joining the walk with its peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend Human Rights.
The Longest Walk 2 also marks the 30th anniversary of the original Longest Walk of 1978 that resulted in historic changes for Native Americans.
2008 Longest Walk 2 Commencement Events Schedule:
Monday, February 11th
4:30 a.m. Spiritual Gathering and Celebration of Indigenous Resistance at Alcatraz Island
This is a public event and members of the media are invited to respectfully attend and cover the ceremonies to initiate the Longest Walk 2.
12 Noon News Conference at University of California, Berkeley at Sproul Plaza
Upholding the Longest Walk 2’s mission, Native Tribes and Social Justice allies will rally together to demand Religious Freedom and Social Justice. Tribal officials, spiritual leaders, environmentalists, and concerned citizens will address religious freedom and federal law violations committed by the University of California.
Tuesday, February 12th
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. News Conference at Rumsey Indian Rancheria
Commencement ceremony with statements announcing we are coming to communities along the route to listen and include local issues along with desired action into The Longest Walk 2 Position Paper. It will be delivered in Washington D.C.
The Rumsey Indian Rancheria is located at 14455 Highway 16
Brooks, California.
12 Noon News Conference in Sacramento at the State Capitol
Official send-off for both routes of the walk. Speakers will address specific legislation issues impacting Native Americans and the Environment. The press conference will be held on the North-end of the Capitol Building.
For a complete itinerary, specific directions and additional information, please visit:www.longestwalk.org.

E-mails expose Arctic oil scam, scientific dissent suppressed

By Carol Goldberg
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Leaked E-Mails May Sink Arctic Offshore Lease Sales
Officials Scramble to Suppress Scientific Dissent over Bush Arctic Oil Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC - February 4 - The Interior Department is scrambling to stanch the flow of internal e-mails from its own scientists that undermine the legality of its aggressive offshore oil and gas lease sales in federal Arctic waters, according to correspondence released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The e-mails belie Bush administration claims that environmental risks were adequately considered prior to offering tracts in the Chukchi, Beaufort and Bering Seas for drilling.
During the past three weeks, PEER has released a series of internal e-mails from current and former Interior scientists raising troubling questions about how badly environmental assessments of Arctic offshore oil development were skewed. These e-mails have fueled two new lawsuits in the past week that threaten to stymie new lease sales and lend further support to ongoing litigation against earlier lease sales.

Read the gag order, and lawsuit against Interior regarding Freedom of Information and polar bear habitat:
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=985

Spy towers aren't working, no kidding

By Brenda Norrell

Photos: US spy towers in Arivaca and on the Tohono O'odham Nation near the Arizona border.

ARIVACA, Ariz. -- It's time to party in Arivaca, so drag out the kites. Ooops, the kites aren't really necessary to confuse the radar, because the spy towers don't work.
Sorry folks, we know there were reports that we were safe in the hands of Homeland Security with all those new spy towers at the Arizona border. But guess what, there's a new report. They really don't work.
Of course the Bush Administration would like to waste millions more on this. I say they get some three-year olds, ten-year-olds tops, to check out their software and computers to find out what the problem is.
Did they really think coffee shop Wi-Fi and the Israeli spy cameras would work in those rugged desert canyons with fortress-like mountains on the Arizona border?
Well, we had a good time anyway, spying on the spy towers this summer.
Here's the latest in the never-ending series of articles: Spy towers don't work

SBInet hits software snag
By Alice Lipowicz
Published on February 5, 2008

Following testing that was supposed to be final, the Homeland Security Department has determined that it needs to develop better software and perform additional tests on the initial 28-mile segment of the SBInet border surveillance system, a department spokeswoman said.
On Dec. 10, the department’s Customs and Border Protection agency conditionally accepted from prime contractor Boeing Co. the “Project 28” initial segment of the Secure Border Initiative Network at the Arizona-Mexico border. Also on that date, agency officials said they would conduct 45 days of operational testing before final acceptance of that section.
But 57 days later, a department official has confirmed a second round of tests is being conducted ... The additional round of testing is the most recent glitch in getting the potentially $30 billion U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada border surveillance system up and running. Boeing was awarded the prime contract in September 2006 and began work on the $20 million initial task order for Project 28, installing towers, cameras, sensors and communications equipment ...
On Monday, Secretary Michael Chertoff said he is requesting $775 million for SBInet in fiscal 2009. The department also recently awarded a $64 million task order to Boeing to develop a common operational picture for SBInet. A common operational picture is a single, relevant display of information that can be used by more than one group.

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In related news, the Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen was in court today, facing a lawsuit over Jeppesen's secret renditions, torture flights:

http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0205-02.htm

Russia tells US to tear down its Apartheid Border Wall

(Photo: San Diego border wall by Jay Johnson-Castro)

PRAVDA, Russia:

"After the trillions of dollars wasted in slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people around the globe, after failing in each and every one of his domestic and international policies, after insulting the noble precepts on which his country was built and after ensuring that he is the last Republican President for many years to come, George Bush prepares one last parting shot: a US-style Berlin Wall.

After two terms in office, it has become patently clear that George Bush neither respects international law, nor has any intention of pretending to abide by the fundamental precepts underlying international relations, having breached the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter and numerous UN Resolutions in wanton acts of mass murder outside the borders of the United States of America."

Read article ...
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/05-02-2008/103883-bushwall-0

Hated Nation: Federal courtroom becomes healing balm

By Brenda Norrell

TUCSON – The dialogue in a federal courtroom here evolved into a healing balm, revealing a nation, the United States, that the world has grown weary of, and a growing number of aging Americans willing to serve time in prison to expose the cancer within.

Torture was again on trial in federal court in Tucson Monday, Feb. 4. But in dialogue that surprised those that packed the courtroom, the healing remedy of grace and understanding were combined with wisdom and the spiritual foundation for a better world.

Two of the protesters of US torture arrived in court suffering from cold and sleep deprivation. Betsy Lamb and Franciscan Fr. Jerry Zawada, in prison awaiting trial, had spent the night in cold, bare holding cells. Those holding cells are where all inmates from the privately-run prisons in Florence wait all night before a court appearance.
Dressed in thin prison clothes in a cell without a bed, there is only a cold, stone floor to lie on.

Mary Burton Riseley, in a wheelchair and sick with the flu, appeared with fellow defendants Lamb and Fr. Zawada.

Read article:

http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/02/hated-nation-federal-courtroom-becomes.html

Col. Ann Wright: Bush and Cheney are axis of evil

Singing all the way to prison, aging Americans go to prison to protest US torture

By Brenda Norrell
Human rights editor
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report

TUCSON – President Bush and his top advisors have violated international laws prohibiting torture and must be held accountable, Retired Army Col. Ann Wright told a gathering in Tucson.
It is the same style of torture that Carlos Mauricio suffered through in El Salvador in 1983. Mauricio’s torturers were trained by the US military who used the manuals of the U.S. School of the Americas.
Col. Wright and Mauricio spoke at the Festival of Hope on Feb. 3, as three more aging Americans, prepared for a hearing and possible prison sentences, following peaceful protests of the Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca.
Exposing the secrets of torture, in solidarity with the poor and oppressed, prisoners of conscience arrived from throughout the United States to prepare for a court hearing in federal court here on Monday, Feb. 4.
Fr. Jerry Zawada and Betsy Lamb, both in prison in Florence awaiting trial, and Mary Burton Riseley, are charged with conspiracy, trespass and failure to obey an officer at Fort Huachuca in November.
Already in prison are two priests, Fr. Steve Kelly and Fr. Louis Vitale, for kneeling in prayer in protest of US torture at Fort Huachuca in Nov. 2006.
Mauricio began with these words, “My story belongs to many El Salvadorans.”
Read article ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/02/col-ann-wright-says-bush-and-cheney-are.html

Ready for battle: Apache women take on Homeland Security in Texas

Eloisa Tamez, shown with her daughter Margo Tamez, on family land in El Calaboz, prepares to battle Homeland Security in federal court on Feb. 7, 2008. Homeland Security filed a condemnation order of Tamez' three acres, which Eloisa Tamez heard about through the media. Photo Arnoldo Garcia

Read article: "Homeland Security's Nazi genocidal tactics"

http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/apache-resisters-in-texas-homeland.html

Native groups file suit over Chukchi Sea lease sale

Inupiat elders resolution prompts region-wide lawsuit

By Indigenous Environmental Network

POINT HOPE, Alaska -- Today the Native Village of Point Hope, the City of Point Hope, the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS), and the Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL) Alaska Native Network, a project of the Indigenous Environmental Network filed a lawsuit to fight the Chukchi Sea Lease Sale 193. Minerals Management Service (MMS) plans to hold the lease sale on February 6, 2008.
The Point Hope Elders Advisory Council, the traditional Inupiat leaders of the Native Village of Point Hope, passed a resolution supporting a legal challenge to prevent offshore oil and gas activities in the Chukchi Sea.“We support a legal challenge to MMS for holding Lease Sale 193 and we encourage others to follow us. As the traditional leaders of Point Hope, we ask all Inupiaq people to join us in our opposition to leasing the Chukchi Sea to oil and gas exploration and development. Help us protect our garden and the way of life we all share,” said David U. Stone, Sr., President of the Point Hope Elders Advisory Council.
The City of Point Hope has joined the lawsuit.“The people of TIKIGAQ [traditional name for the people of Point Hope] have hunted and depended on the animals that migrate through the Chukchi Sea for thousands of years. This is our garden, our identity, our livelihood,” said Steve Oomittuk, Point Hope City Mayor. "Without it we would not be who we are today. Even at this present day and time the animals from these waters shelter, clothe, and feed us. We would be greatly impacted if anything happened to our ocean and the animals that migrate through the Chukchi Sea. We oppose any activity that will endanger our way of life and the animals that we greatly depend on,” said Oomittuk.
The approximately 30 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Chukchi Sea 193 lease area include core habitat for polar bear and Pacific walrus, and encompasses the migration route of the bowhead whale, which the Inupiaq people of the North Slope have subsisted on for thousands of years ... Read article ...
http://indigenist.blogspot.com/
Photo 1: Inupait Heritage Center Photo 2: Department of Fisheries and Oceans