Klamath disrupt Buffet's salmon killing corporate machine

Craig Tucker, Spokesperson Karuk Tribe (916) 207-8294 Regina Chichizola, Klamath Riverkeeper (541) 951-0126 Matt Mais, Yurok Tribe (707) 954-0976 Christina Haro, Media Contact (415) 453-0430

Klamath River Tribes and Fishermen Declare Mission Accomplished

Groups succeed in disrupting Warren Buffett’s Woodstock of Capitalism

By Criag Tucker

OMAHA – Klamath River Basin tribal leaders, native activists, and sport and commercial fishermen, and conservationists returned home to the West Coast after disrupting the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. The group is demanding the removal of four Klamath River dams that kill salmon and create massive blooms of toxic algae.
“We went to Omaha to send Warren Buffett and his executives a clear message that as long as there is no business as usual on the Klamath, there will be no business as usual for him, Mid American Energy, or PacifiCorp,” said Karuk Vice-Chair Leaf Hillman, after the shareholder meeting held May 1 --4.
Tribal members, commercial and sport fishers and Regina Chichizola of Klamath River Keeper, camped out in front of Omaha’s Qwest Center at 1 a.m. the night before in a cold rain. This allowed the group to get at the head of the cue to ask Buffett questions during a six-hour question and answer session in front of 30,000 shareholders.
Karuk World Renewal Priest, or Fatawana, Chook-Chook Hillman spearheaded the strategy and was the third person to speak at the meeting. After introducing himself in his native tongue, Chook-Chook challenged Buffett by saying, “as a European-American you are the visitor in our country…will you not meet with the native people impacted by your fish killing dams. You say you want to address poverty and disease in the third world. But you are creating those same third world conditions right here in America. We want to meet and resolve the issue in a way that saves you money and saves our culture!” Chook-Chook then presented a dam removal agreement.
As he spoke, Georgiana Myers and Annalia Norris of the Yurok Tribe unfurled a large banner that read “Klamath Dams Equal Cultural Genocide.”
Before lunch two more questions came from the group, one from Klamath River Keeper Regina Chichizola focused on the toxic algae blooms in Buffett’s Klamath Reservoirs and another from Mike Polmateer of the Karuk Tribe. Each time Buffett passed the question off to Mid American CEO David Sokol and each time another banner was unfurled. One read, “Buffett’s Dams kill salmon, communities, and jobs.” Another read “Warren: Un-dam the Klamath - sign the agreement now!”
Sokol answered each time by describing the issue as “complex” while security escorted the Tribal members from the building. There were no arrests.
After the lunch break, Buffett announced that he would not field any more questions about the Klamath. Commercial salmon fishermen Dave Bitts, Karuk fisherman Ron Reed, and Karuk Medicine Woman Cathy McCovey where denied access to the microphones despite being next in the cue to speak.
Bitts, who had to navigate around a snow storm in Denver to make the meeting was clearly disappointed.
“I traveled over 3000 miles to be here and woke up at two o’clock in the morning to speak, then I was told I couldn’t speak. The story I have to tell is that of an out of work commercial fishermen,” said Bitts. “Buffett spent a lot of time today explaining what he couldn’t do for us. I wanted to ask the richest man on the planet what he could do for us.”
“Now we return home having accomplished our mission. We sent a clear message to Buffett, Sokol and every other executive involved that as long as there is no justice on the Klamath, there will be no peace for them,” said Karuk Tribal Member Jess Mcloughlin who was involved in erecting the banners.
Yurok council member Richard Myers said, “Everyone has had a chance to sit at the table and work with the tribes towards a resolution. There is one empty chair left. We are waiting for PacifiCorp to take a seat.”
Pictures from this year’s protests are available from the Associated Press and will be posted online soon at http://www.klamathriver.org/.
Learn more about the Klamath Crisis on YouTube:
Un-dam It Commercial: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pFoyzZvuXxs
Klamath River Toxic Algae: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tDny8jvd950&feature=related
Tribes and Fisherman at Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SasDF5b9rks
For more information: http://www.berkshireshareholders.com/ http://www.salmonforsavings.org/
S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California NEW NUMBER home office: 707-839-1982 Tribal office in Orleans: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker [at] karuk.us
http://www.karuk.us/

Hopi and Navajo truths confirmed by science in US censored climate report

By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

ARIZONA -- With the release of the US censored climate report -- that Bush and his corporate handlers censored for four years -- the words of the late Hopi spiritual leaders are mirrored forth.
Hopi Sinom, including Thomas Banyacya and Dan Evehema, foretold of a time when hurricanes, storms and wildfires would seize the planet if human beings did not care for Mother Earth. They also warned if the secret agenda of coal mining was carried out on Black Mesa, under the guise of the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute and Navajos were relocated, that natural calamities would increase.
Just a few days ago in the Navajos' Chuska Mountains, I was listening to a traditional Navajo farmer talk about how dry the earth is. Looking at the dry pinon trees and dusty earth, she said it would be hard to get the corn and squash to grow this summer. The earth is so dry that it does not absorb water like it used to. Every year it gets worse.
The U.S. censored climate report, just released under court order, reflects this truth about the drought in the Southwest. The report also reveals the truth foretold by the Hopi spiritual leaders. Hurricanes and storms are increasing with global warming and changes in ocean air circulation.
Sadly, as the ice habitat of polar bears is melting, the Navajo Nation President and Council are pressing for another coal-fired power plant, Desert Rock, to produce more greenhouse gases to destroy more of the Arctic. The polar bears and walrus are now being driven from their homeland in the north largely because of coal-fired power plants, just as the Navajos were driven from their homeland in the south so Peabody Coal could seize the land for coal mines to feed power plants.
While it is a great day to see the voices of the traditional Hopi and Navajo converge with the facts of science, it is a sad day to see the destruction all around us. This was the reason for the Longest Walk, to bring attention to this destruction.
From the nuclear testing and gold mining on Western Shoshone lands in Nevada to the widespread oil and gas drilling on Ute lands in Colorado and the power plants on Navajoland, the damage to Mother Earth is pervasive.
In simple towns of working people across the west, power plants were being built wherever people were economically desperate and unaware of the illnesses that follow.
When the Bush Administration carried out torture, it violated the Geneva Conventions and committed perverse criminal acts.
By concealing the truth of global warming, so that power plants would be constructed and oil and gas drilling would increase rapidly in the mad rush for corporate profiteering before Bush's term ended, the Bush Administration committed a crime against humanity.
In reality, this was not just the genocide of American Indians and people of color, this crime crossed all racial lines and is now a crime against all of the people on this continent and all of humanity.

US Censored Climate Report:
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_sc/storytext/sci_climate_science/27673504/SIG=10r1psip4/*http://tinyurl.com/4hojv5

Global warming and wildfires:
"In the last three decades, the wildfire season in the western United States has lengthened and burn durations have increased. Climate change has also very likely increased the size and number of insect outbreaks and tree mortality that help to fuel wildfires in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska. These trends are very likely to continue." [V.1.c]
Greenhouse gases and black carbons
"Several different types of gases in the atmosphere warm the planet by trapping energy that would otherwise be emitted to space. These ‘greenhouse gases’ include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and several fluorine- and chlorine-containing gases.
"Black carbon aerosols introduce a warming influence. Deposition of black carbon on snow and ice also contributes a warming influence on the climate by decreasing surface reflectivity that would otherwise deflect more solar energy back into space."

Photo 1: Thomas Banyacya. Photo 2: Polar bear baby. Photos 3: San Juan Generating Station Photos 4 and 5: Indigenous Peoples protest the Desert Rock/Sithe Global power plant planned for the Navajo Naiton, during the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Photos Elouise Brown/Dooda (NO) Desert Rock.

brendanorrell@gmail.com

Longest Walk, Michigan and Pennsylvania

(Please double click on posters to enlarge and print)

Those of us here in southwestern Pennsylvania look forward to welcoming the participants of the Longest Walk 2 on Saturday, the 21st of June, as dancers from across the country come to honor the two gifts given to the People at the Woodland Zoo. The White and the Black Buffalo calves. More information about these amazing births, along with official statements from respected and recognized Elders and Spiritual Leaders can be found at www.buffalomessengers.org This will be a beautiful, powerful message for the People, not only of Turtle Island, but worldwide.

Jack Fire would have joined the National Day of Action!

The following letter by a Mohawk youth is being posted on the Day of Action:

Mohawk Nation News
Letter to the editor:

Jake Fire Would Have Joined the National Day of Action! Canadians are seeing the gruesome power of police officers. They have been given the right to carry deadly weapons as part of their arsenal to use during arrests. They carry 50,000 volt tasers, which recently caused the death of an immigrant at the air port in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadian public should be very concerned about that incident, since it was not an isolated one. On May 1, 1899, an Akwesasne Mohawk, Saiowisakeron, also known as “Jake Fire”, faced the barrel of a gun in the hands of an RCMP officer. The RCMP had been sent to arrest the Akwesasne traditional chiefs. Standing up for what was right, an unarmed Jake Fire was shot and killed by the RCMP officer. The RCMP officer shooting and killing Jake Fire is the kind of violence and aggression that the colonists use when dealing with Indigenous Peoples asserting our rights. Jake Fire was killed because he supported the traditional Iroquois government and though it was best for his people. At the time, the federal government wanted to impose the colonial band council system of governance. When the Mohawks of Akwesasne resisted the colonial band council style of government, they were coerced into obedience. This pattern has been followed over the centuries when Indigenous got in the way of the immigrants who were swarming all over Turtle Island. In the United States, whenever the settlers came against opposition from the Indigenous, the army was called in. Indigenous resisters were pushed onto uninhabitable areas of Turtle Island. In 1922 the RCMP raided the Six Nations as part of an Indian Affairs plot to overthrow the traditional govenrment. [Order in Council PC 1629, Sept. 17, 1924]. The Iroquois have always resisted being bulldozed into obedience by land developers, governments and police agencies. The most recent example of this brutal method to attempt to control Indigenous occurred in 1995 when an OPP sniper killed an unarmed Indigenous, Dudley George, at Ipperwash, Ontario. Canada and the provincial governments refuse to talk peacefully with the Indigenous people. Instead they arrest and jail, especially the youth. Jailing our people means that Indigenous across Canada are forced to take a back seat to ancestral land and resource theft. We are presently seeing the fast pace of urban development coming into conflict with the Indigenous. Land developers see no problem in going onto disputed Indigenous land to put up housing complexes and explore for oil that destroy the land. Reserves are the only lands left where the non-native are not supposed to encroach. This has not been stopping the developers from trying to enter them too. On May 29, 2008, the Indigenous are asking the Canadian public for support to inform the government that Indigenous Peoples must be dealt with fairly and equitably. This will be the second annual National Day of Action, and Indigenous will show the world that we still care about our rights. Support the cause since it is the future of Indigenous and non-natives alike that will be affected by the federal and provincial government’s response to Indigenous concerns. Kanatase Horn, MohawkAkwesasneKanatase_18@hotmail.com Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News, May 29, 2008. http://www.mohawknationnews.com/

Brita Brookes photos, Longest Walk Ohio

Special thanks to Brita Brookes for sharing the memories and photos from the Longest Walk in Ohio

Longest Walk Ohio 5-27-08
By Brita Brookes

Aanii- The Longest Walk Northern Route started dry but ended rainy and wind swept. Longest Walkers met in the morning at the Energy Conservation Center and started walking east on 40 from Englewood to just outside Dayton.

Some of the interesting sights and themes that came out of today's photos were the dependence on oil and gas fueled vehicles.

The Energy Center has a whole museum dedicated to education on alternative energy issues -- and they even have a hydrogen tank set up.

As we moved east we kept passing scrap yards with 100's of dead cars, and abandoned gas stations in the smaller towns.

The wind made its presence known perhaps to say, "hey I'm am here, why wont you let me help you!!" As the rain got heavier the walkers got more determined- just a little water thats all!

Today we had the Oglala Longest walk security team man the walk and provide our own ''secret service''...wopila to you for keeping us safe today!The walk ended near the Englewood Metro Park where there is a large dam, Englewood dam.

LOL

A tribute to the runners, Longest Walk Northern Route

Running near the Indiana and Ohio border, Craig, Aislyn and Harry, on the northern route. Photos Brita Brookes. The Longest Walk Cultural Survival Summit is planned for July 8 -- 11, before the walkers from the northern and southern routes march into Washington D.C. on July 11.

Northern Route drum song (Cahokia Mounds Longest Walk Powwow) from Longest Walk Talk Radio http://www.earthcycles.net/

Listen:
2008-05-10_aimsong.mp3

Tyendinaga: Resisting mega jail

TYENDINAGA RESISTANCE CONTINUES: O.P.P. THREATENS TO PLANT MEGA POLICE & JAIL COMPLEX IN COMMUNITY

Mohawk Nation News
May 25, 2008. The Mohawk Men released a statement about their continuing resistance to the newly purchased $2 million O.P.P state-of-the-art police facility, complete with helipad, jail cells and surveillance towers. Why is such a medieval fortress needed? Tyendinaga is where Dekanawida, the man who helped to unite the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy under the Great Law, came from. Today this is a community of 2,200 people where everyone knows who’s going to fall in love with whom before they know it themselves. Our ancestors have been living together forever. We don’t need a jail! This is a federal initiative. The colonial band council used almost one million dollars of community money without consulting us or getting a valid consent.
Read article at Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

Traditional Squamish Chief removed by taser-armed RCMP in Vancouver

Squamish Nation territory ("Vancouver, Canada")
May 24, 2008
A force of twenty taser-armed RCMP officers and band council police forced Chief Kiapilano off his own land yesterday during a peaceful occupation of the Squamish band council office by Kiapilano and his supporters.
Posted by Mohawk Nation News
On Friday morning, May 23rd, Hereditary Squamish Chief Kiapilano and a dozen supporters had swiftly occupied the offices of the state-funded "Squamish Band Council" in North Vancouver, and ordered the eviction of the entire band council.
For more information: 1-888-265-1007 (Canada)
Read latest news:
http://www.jointhefederation.org/
.
Return to Censored News Homepage
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Tohono O'odham Chairman: Graves destroyed in border construction

Tohono O'odham Chairman testifies that border wall construction violates federal law, destroyed graves

By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS -- Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr., testified at a Congressional hearing that the construction of the border wall has plowed through the graves of the Hohokam and fragments of human bone have been found in the contractor's heavy equipment tracks.
"Imagine a bulldozer in your family graveyard," Norris testified at the Congressional field hearing on April 28.
"In the words of the U.S. Supreme Court, Indian tribes predate the United States. We are older than the international boundary with Mexico, but our nation is now cut in half."
Norris said the Tohono O'odham Nation has repeatedly "partnered" with Border Patrol to construct border vehicle barriers in places instead of walls, and allowed federal spy towers and checkpoints. However, the federal government has failed to uphold the standard of federal law.
Norris said Homeland Security's desire to move forward with inflexible time guidelines has damaged the environment and cultural areas.
Norris testified that the contractor, Boeing, has destroyed graves, cultural sites and created a barrier of the Tohono O'odham ceremonial route.
When the Tohono O'odham Nation acted to delay construction of the border wall in endangered jaguar territory, the construction continued as planned, despite promises to the contrary.
"I am here to urge you to restore the rule of law," Norris said, adding that the price being paid is too high for the people and their ancestors for the border wall.
"Today it is as if Congress never passed NEPA," Norris said, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act. "We support border security, but not at the price that is now being paid."
Norris said the US/Mexico border crossed the Tohono O'odham people and their land. Today, the border construction has divided a salt pilgrimage route and Tohono O'odham families.
"We didn't cross the 75 miles of border on our reservation, the border crossed us."

Watch video from South Texas border wall hearing:
Includes: Representatives of the Department of Interior, the U.S. Border Patrol, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas, the Tohono O'odham Nation, and the University of Texas, Brownsville, remark on the merits and demerits of border fences and walls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuyvF-kjIsQ--
Photos by Brenda Norrell: Boeing constructing border vehicle barrier and federal spy tower, both on Tohono O'odham Nation land south of Sells, Arizona.



Lipan Apache Defense

In South Texas, Eloisa Tamez and daughter Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache, continue to fight Homeland Security over the seizure of their land for the US/Mexico border wall.

Photo Arnoldo Garcia

Lipan Apache Community Defense Blog: http://www.lipanapachecommunitydefense.blogspot.com/ Lipan Apache (El Calaboz) Women Community Built a Local-Global Movement.. https://mysite.wsu.edu/personal/mtamez/calaboz/default.aspx
Our case is supported by~~Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
://www.centerforhumanrights.org/ PRESS RELEASES: Lipan Apache (El Calaboz) Communty Defense (courtesy of National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, http://www.nnirr.org/) (RE: Dr. Eloisa Garcia Tamez vs. Michael Chertoff/U.S. DHS):
http://www.nnirr.org/news/index.php?op=read&id=110&type=8http://www.nnirr.org/news/index.php?op=read&id=90&type=8
MARGO TAMEZ: http://www.nativewiki.org/Margo_Tamez
myspace.com/ndelands
WE ARE~~Lipan Nde' Shini', South Texas-Tamaulipas, Apacheria, (San Pedro de Carricitos)
WE FIGHT FOR~~Restoring Nde' hat'i'i shimaa shini'

RETURN TO CENSORED NEWS HOMEPAGE http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Listen to Jay Johnson-Castro

Longest Walk Talk Radio's coverage includes news from the US/Mexico border

Listen to Jay Johnson Castro, organizer of the Citizens Walk for Human Dignity from Tucson to Phoenix, discuss the walk, Endgame and migrant prisons for US profits. Listen on Earthcycles, Longest Walk Talk Radio: 2008-05-12_jayjohson.mp3 Time: 34:1715.7 Mb

Longest Walk Talk Radio has nearly 400 interviews and drum songs since the Longest Walk departed from Alcatraz:

http://www.earthcycles.net

US imprisoning migrants in private prisons for profit

Immigration Police State Sucks Up Children, Citizens AlterNet - San Francisco,CA,USAThe immigration detention system has proven a cash cow for companies likeHalliburton, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the GEO Group....<http://www.alternet.org/immigration/86043/>

.Nationwide Rallies Highlight Failure of War on ImmigrantsAlterNet - San Francisco,CA,USA... deployment of 6000 national guard troops to the border, billions ofdollars in government contracts to military-industrial companies likeHalliburton, ...<http://www.alternet.org/rights/84296/>

One Nation Under Surveillance:

The Last Roundup: Are You on the List?Pacific Free Press - Victoria,BC, CanadaMore such facilities were commissioned in 2006, when Kellogg Brown &Root—then a subsidiary of Halliburton—was handed a $385 millioncontract to establish ...<http://pacificfreepress.com/content/view/2623/1/

WaPo To Run Explosive Series On Immigrant Detention Program Huffington Post - New York,NY,USAIn February 2006, the New York Times reported that a subsidiary ofHalliburton had been awarded a $385 million contract to build "temporaryimmigration ...<

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/08/wapo-to-run-explosive-ser_n_100813.html

Endgame, Bush/Nazi regime's migrant plan

The Endgame, the Bush/Nazi regime's latest plan for removal of migrants
Read about it in Phoenix New Times:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2008/05/not_just_for_conspiracy_theori.phphoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2008/05/not_just_for_conspiracy_theori.php

More from Google breaking news: US profiteering from private prisons
Lawsuits raise questions about private prisons San Diego Union Tribune, United States - May 4, 2008The company is the nation's largest private prison operator. Private prisons: Corrections Corporation of America's agreement with the federal government to ...
Companies Cashing in on People's Prison Stripes? NPR - May 22, 2008News & Notes , May 22, 2008 · Many small towns have come to depend on prisons for jobs, but are private prisons taking advantage the incarcerated to turn a ...
TACOMA: Washington inmates in Oklahoma investigated in assault on ...
TheNewsTribune.com
all 15 news articles »



The Citizens Walk for Human Dignity, from Tucson to Phoenix, was a success. The walk drew attention to racism and xenophobia along the border. Read more at:

http://www.walk4humandignity.com/index.html

Bahe Katenay: Elders voices and the Longest Walks

Bahe Katenay from Big Mountain, among the most censored voices in Indian country, offers reflections on the Longest Walks. Bahe shares his memories of a vision at Sand Creek and asks where are the voices of the traditional elders:

Lakota elder and wise man, Mathew King, once stated, “The struggle of the red people can only be strong if its warrior nation understands that the struggle is like the Sun Dance. Humbleness is key if you make a vow to such a Sun Dance because all the filth of divisiveness, greed and false accusation will be wiped clean on You! You will be the door mat. Why do I speak to you when you are having your rest from your Sun Dance? Well, because Tunkacula and God want you to worry just like the Sun Dance songs that are supposed to make you worry so that, you will become stronger and maintain your spirit to overcome the pain of hunger and fatigue.”Grandfather Wallace Black Elk told the LW78 in Kansas, “Someday I hope the red peoples will make the victory to save what is left of our country, our sacred places, our ancestral burial grounds, our traditional foods and medicines, and all our relations. This kind of victory is only possible by understanding that we are all One People from South America to North America. I want you all to remember this and pray for all these things as you walk across this Turtle Island (North America).”
Read article on Bahe's blog:
http://sheepdognationrocks.blogspot.com/2008/05/where-have-all-great-traditional-voices.html

Photo: Sand Creek, on the Longest Walk 2 Northern Route/Photo Brenda Norrell

A good prayer: Young Dine' join Longest Walk Northern Route

A good prayer

Young Dine' join the Longest Walk Northern Route

By Brenda Norrell
Navajo Times print edition
Reprinted with permission
May 15, 2008

ST. LOUIS – Navajo youths on the Longest Walk 2 Northern Route, are continuing the Dine’ prayers they grew up with as they walk and run across America. Walking and running through the heart of America, Craig Luther, 19, from Sanders, and Kenzie Begay, 17, from Richfield, Utah, reflected on this journey and what it means for future generations.
Luther, said, “It feels good to run and carry the staff, even though when you’re running you get tired. We were running up a hill and I saw a hawk fly over me. I went and blessed myself. I got an energy burst and ran up the hill like it was nothing.”
Luther, who joined the walk when it passed through Richfield, Utah, said it feels good to hear people blowing their horns in support on the highway.
“When I get tired, I think about what I’m running for.” For Luther, those reasons include good health and strong lungs. He also receives strength and support from being with the other runners.
“It is just a good feeling.”
Luther’s parents are Anita Nalwood and Christopher Nalwood. His maternal grandparents are Bessie and Wilson, Nez, Jr., from Dinnebeto. Growing up, he lived in Tuba City and Flagstaff and attended elementary and middle school in Sanders. During high school in Richfield, Utah, he played football and participated in wrestling.
Luther grew up speaking Navajo and attending the Native American Church and traditional Navajo ceremonies.
Remembering the running he did with his cousins while growing up, he said, “We ran all over.” From his aunties, uncles, grandparents, brothers and cousins, he learned. “I know how to weave and bead. When I was young, my mom and dad told me to run before the sun comes up and pray.
“When I first decided to join, when they were talking about it, I saw all the young people, the young kids that were there. I thought it would be a good prayer. I saw a lot of good people. I thought it would be a good experience to go walk and run to Washington D.C.”
Luther said his Navajo family members have given him a great deal of support on the walk. “They call and say they are proud of me. My cousins have been sending me money. They said it is for a good purpose.
“It is for a good purpose, it will make a good impact on future generations. It could change what people think about Indian people.”
Luther, who makes fry bread for the walkers, said he has learned a lot on this walk about what to do in life, and what not to do. He said he still has lots to learn.
“The people have stories and good teachings. I’ve learned a lot of teachings and stories to wake me up.” Luther said Navajos and other Indian Nations have many similarities. “At the end of this walk I know I’m going to be different, helping out my people in the areas where the people have difficulties.”
Luther has a message for other Navajo youths.
“Learn your language, learn your culture, learn your teachings and learn your songs. Listen to your grandparents. They won’t always be around. Pray and stay away from alcohol and drugs. Those don’t get you anywhere in life and tear families apart.”
Luther said if people are strong, they can stay away from alcohol and drugs.
Luther, who enjoys art and math, plans to go to college and said he might even strive to serve on the Navajo Nation Council someday.
Like Luther, Navajo youth Kenzie Begay, 17, Navajo from Richfield, Utah, joined the walk in Utah and continues on the walk through America’s heartland. Begay said her mother inspired her to join the Longest Walk. Begay also was inspired by Sage, Native youth from Oklahoma, who goes by only her first name.
Begay said, “When the walkers came through Richfield I asked my mom if I could join.” Still, it took some convincing. It wasn’t until the Salt Lake Longest Walk Powwow that she joined the walk. “I thought it sounded fun.”
Calvin Magpie, Cheyenne and Arapaho from Oklahoma, also talked to her about what the walk meant. “Calvin talked me about it. He explained to me what the walk was about. And Sage inspired me.”
Asked what is the most difficult part of the walk, Begay said the fast pace of the walk, because it makes it difficult to pray. But other than that, she is enjoying everything about the walk.
“So far it has been the best experience of my life.”
One aspect she loves is learning about Indian tribes from many nations.
“I never knew there were Indian Nations in Missouri and Kansas,” she said. During April, the Longest Walk rested for five days on the Kickapoo Indian Nation in Kansas. There, the walkers heard of the Kickapoos struggle for water and were treated with great hospitality.
“The people there were really nice.” At the Kickapoo Boys and Girls Club, the walkers were able to participate in basketball and other sports during the rest. Begay also learned to make fry bread on the walk from other Navajos, including Luther.
Begay said she was very impressed with Haskell Indian Nations University, where a powwow, wetlands tour and other events were offered for walkers. “I liked seeing the huge medicine wheel; they had a place to pray and a sweat lodge. Their campus was beautiful; I loved it.”
Growing up in Richfield, Utah, one of the highlights was to visit her Navajo relatives, including Aunt Marlene Tsosie in Chinle. “Every time my family and I went down there, we would have prayers for our family. They showed us how to pray. If we needed help, they would pray for us.”
As Begay was walking and running across America, back in Utah, her mother Sophie Adison of Richfield, offered words of praise for her daughter and Luther.
Adison said when the Longest Walk Northern Route came through their area in southern Utah and spoke to the communities that it brought a wonderful message to the youths in the Sevier School District.
“Everything that the leaders have taught me and our children of our area, has brought a new understanding and pride in who they are and where they come from.”
Both Luther’s mother, Anita Nalwood, and Adison praised their children. Both mothers said they hope to join the walk later.
Adison said, “And can you believe, my Kenzie, is actually there with you all. I'm so proud of her and the decision she made to go on this walk to DC. The decision she made was out of the ‘norm’ for all of us and caught me by surprise; because she is the youngest in our family and she is very sheltered and she is usually with siblings, friends or me. So this is something I knew in my heart was the right thing for her to do and I support her 100 percent doing this for herself, our family, all native students and her Dine people. Yes, she is young, but this is what her.”
Adison said her daughter, but she is doing something good and is following her heart. “She is doing what her heart was telling her to do, to find herself and her pride and bring all the wonderful experiences back to us and the students.”
Adison said she is also happy that Luther is on the walk, because he has also received praise from those who know him.
“The two have brought pride to our community and schools. And we are so grateful that all you wonderful people came our way. We needed this and are extremely grateful,” Adison said in a message to the walkers.
Meanwhile, Begay, interviewed aboard the Earthcycles’ Longest Walk webcast radio bus near St. Louis, said she hopes to become a dental hygienist. She enjoys soccer, tumbling and gymnastics. She also enjoys reading mysteries and writing poems.
One of those poems was written in appreciation of her mother. When her mother had a stroke, the reality of what life would be like without her was powerful. Begay’s advice to other youths is, never let a day pass without living your life completely and letting those you love know how much you love them.
“Live life to the fullest.”
Begay said she is looking forward to seeing her mother when the walk reaches Washington D.C. for a four day cultural survival summit on July 8, then marches into Washington on July 11.
“My mom is going to be there.”

Rapporteur's schedule to document racism in US

XENOPHOBIA IN US: Special Rapporteur Schedule

Special Rapporteur Doudou Diéne to document US racism of Indigenous Peoples, ethnnic populations, migrants and women

(Sunday 18-20, Washington DC)
Wednesday May 21-22, New York, NY
--Urban Justice Center Ejim Dike edike@urbanjustice.org
--International Asso. Against Torture Roger Wareham Roger.wareham@gmail.com
Friday May 23-24, Chicago, IL
--People's Programme, Edward Palmer bpalmer@uic.edu
--Coalition to Protect Public Housing J.R. Flemming iamhiphopchicago@gmail.com
Sunday May 25-26 Omaha, NE
--Peoples' Programme, David Campt theracedoctor@yahoo.com
Tuesday May 27-29 Los Angeles, CA
--ACLU of SoCal, Catherine Lhamon clhamon@aclu-sc.org
--CADRE Director, Maisie Chin maisie@cadre-la.org
Friday May 30-31 New Orleans, LA
--NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Damon Hewitt dhewitt@naacpdf.org
--US Human Rights Network, Tonya Williams twilliams@ushrnetwork.org
Sunday June 1-2, Miami, FL
--ACLU of Florida, Muslima Lewis mlewis@aclufl.org
Tuesday June 3-4 San Juan, PR
ACLU of Puerto Rico, William Ramirez aclupr@prtc.net
--Thursday June 5-6 Washington, DC
More information:
http://www.ushrnetwork.org/special_rep

The Rapporteur would like to meet with American Indians while in Miama. To host the Rapporteur please contact immediately:
Alberto Saldamando (alberto@treatycouncil.org) at the International Indian Treaty Council

Mohawk Nation News: Exposing the secret warfare machines of Canada and US

HAUDENOSAUNEE EAGLES KEEP WATCH OVER CANADA'S AERIAL WARFARE: Those Pesky Mohawks are in the Way Again: by Iakoha’ko:wa of Sharbot Lake

By Kahentinetha Horn
Mohawk Nation News
May 20, 2008. The 21st century soldier will be able to kill masses of people without ever looking into their eyes, or hearing their cries or smelling the stench of their dead bodies. They can commit the carnage while sitting comfortably in a place like Trenton Army Base in Ontario. They won't get their legs and hands blown off. They’re priceless because of all the tax money that went into their training in killing people. These kids will have the power of life or death over everyone, including themselves.
We know that we are hardwired to protect each other. How do we stop this war making? Our survival depends on it.
Canada is not under military threat from anyone, except perhaps the U.S. Yet on May 12, 2008 Canada announced a $30 billion 20-year “War Plan” to expand and “warriorize” their military. The previous budget was $9 billion a year. Canada will recruit 11,000 soldiers a year for a total of 100,000 regular troops and reserves. More mega bases and “super-lethalized” weaponry are in the works. Why?
Canada's War Department "is the single largest property holder in the federal government. It has over 21,000 buildings and more than 12,000 roads and utilities on over 800 properties." It costs plenty to maintain them.
Since MNN’s recent report on UAV's and spying from the skies, (It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a UAV?!) more information has come in about the push by the military-industrial-corporate complex to upgrade the military base at Trenton, Ontario. It’s 20 minutes from the Tyendinaga Mohawk community. Stealing all of Turtle Island's riches from the Indigenous people and setting up controls by a few “war barons” is part of the scheme.
R. Don Maracle, the “Chief” of the colonial government’s control system at Tyendinaga, is friendly with Peter MacKay, Canada's Minister of Defense. They appear in a March 2008 news photo smiling and holding hands as they cut the ribbon at the opening of “Fort Brant” at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston Ontario. Standing beside them were Tom Lawson and Dan Gosseling, from the college. Their shoes were all well-polished.
The Trenton base is being rebuilt for the JTF2 “Anti Terrorism Unit” that is presently near Ottawa. First they have to “find” the terror. Since Canada is not under threat by anyone, they have to “create” the illusion of a threat in the public’s mind. Moving near Lake Ontario and an international military airport will provide more opportunities for them to play more deadly war games. They are already trying to terrorize us by attacking the Mohawks at Tyendinaga for objecting to their war plans on our territory.
The Mohawks refused to allow more condo development and quarrying on our land. On April 22, 2008, we were attacked by 900 heavily armed goons, beaten, arrested and charged with “mischief”. We are beginning to think this housing was meant for the hundreds of skilled and well-paid workers needed to operate just one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV? The Mohawks have no army or weapons and never provoked a confrontation with anyone. We have been designated as “insurgents” by the military and in many reports by the RCMP, OPP, Global Risk and the corporate media. Why?
Right now a new $2 million police station/holding jail with a helipad on top is being built at Tyendinaga. It looks like we may be attacked and locked up in this new “gulag” just for “selling native cigarettes”, they say. Then our people could be easily transported on “extraordinary rendition” flights to who knows where. Is such a huge jail in the middle of a small Indigenous community and near an air force base supposed to remind us of the oppression of Indigenous peoples that is going on in places like Afghanistan and Palestine? Talk about security! In March, 2008, a passerby found some blueprints for the new Trenton base in the garbage in Ottawa. It caused a brief flurry in the news about classified plans and national security. This is when Canadians first learned about the new mega base and that a bunch of psychopaths have taken over their government!The “Aerospace Warfare Centre” CFAWC was set up at Trenton in 2005 to find new ways to fight wars in the sky. [The air is ours too as the colonists did not bring it here from Europe!] Jim Cottingham is the “head cheese”. He was DND Department of Defense, Director of Operations at the Maritime Air Component in Victoria, British Columbia from 1997 to 1999. On May 5, 2008, “Defense Construction Canada” DCC awarded a $1.7 million contract to “Taskforce Engineering Inc.” of Belleville Ontario. They are to construct a new ATESS Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron at Trenton. Last year they were paid $2.3 million for another Defense project at Trenton. These war makers now need to field test their complex UAV technology in a "domestic location". If they crash they don’t want their virtual "enemy" to be able to examine them.
Trenton has about 3,000 military personnel and 600 civilian staff. UAV's are used for two main purposes, the small ones for spying and the big ones for shooting bombs. UAV's and ISRUAV's are used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISR by major military powers and by growing numbers of civilian agencies such as the US Customs and Border Patrol.
The Customs and Border Patrol is controlled out of “Riverside, California”, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The US Customs and Border Protection CBP uses 2 big UAV's on the Mexican border, Elbit's Hermes UAV and General Atomics' Predator. Both can carry and launch bombs. In April 2006 it was used to monitor the Sierra Vista border area. It crashed and was replaced in November by two more, costing $10 million annually. One of two bought in 2007 will be used on the Canadian border as a “demo”, based out of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In other words, they’re aiming their missiles northward.Canada, which can no longer afford decent Medicare [now called “mediocre”], bought one Silver Fox mini UAV in 2004 from Tucson based “Advanced Ceramics Research” ACR for $649,000. These are used for spying and killing. Canadian military uses the larger Sperwer UAV in Afghanistan to spy on and kill people. They are now buying Skylarks from Elbit of Israel for their spying operations.
Defense Construction Canada DCC is putting out tenders for military construction projects and contract awards on the internet. (Links provided below) Large contracts for work at Trenton have been made with local Ontario businesses like Colbourne & Kembel Architects of Kingston Ontario; Lafarge Paving & Construction of Belleville Ontario; and Sunrae Construction Ltd. of Glenburnie Ontario. Are these friends of the politicians? None of these deals have been discussed or okayed by the public. The psychos who have taken over the Canadian budget and government wanted to lease some medium sized Predator UAV's under “Project Noctua” from General Atomics. This UAV can carry and shoot “Hellfire Missiles” developed by the CIA and tested over Bosnia in 1993. General Atomics would rather sell them outright to get their money up front. If Canadians found out about it, they’d be pissed and might stop it. In February 2008, General Dynamics Canada agreed to SELL the Predator to the Canadian government! What a con job! ”Teal Group” researches and analyzes the aerospace and defense industry and then sells their wares to executives, government or whoever can pay the price. They predict that starting in 2006, $12.5 billion will be spent on UAV's alone each year. Forecast International has pegged the market at $13.6 billion annually by 2014. Is this going to save the crumbling health care and infrastructure? We doubt it.
Teal predicts that beginning in 2008, the annual US spending on UAV research and development will be $1.2 billion. The purchase of new UAV's each year will cost about $450 million.
IAI Israel Aerospace Industries makes the biggest and smallest UAV's. UAV's can apparently shape shift, making themselves look like Coke cans! Watch out for Coke cans hanging around the hydro lines trying to juice up. The IAI “Mosquito” is a Micro UAV equipped with a video camera. It is hand launched and used for urban surveillance. The quiet, electrically powered “Bird Eye 400” system is made up of 3 UAV's that work together, flying like birds of one feather. IAI's global sales in 2006 topped $2.8 billion. In an article at flightglobal.com, "Shlomo Tsach, director of advanced programmes at IAI said that in the coming years the focus will be on shorter take-offs, lower operating costs and greater use of solar power and fuel cells. This means smaller “better” UAVs with 0.4 oz. cameras. UAVs are being geared to take over all aircraft missions in the coming decades. What’s this “North American Union” that needs to monitor these borders and track people's every movement about? They know there is real border, the Indigenous one. These colonial unnatural borders cut through many of our Indigenous communities. UAV's are being used to harass and intimidate innocent people in our homes and communities all over the world.Shouldn’t the Canadian people demand that the Auditor General, Sheila Fraser, and their politicians conduct a full investigation of military spending, particularly those that have not been discussed and approved in open Parliamentary discussion? If these “sickos” really want the thrill of war, why don’t they just sit on their joy sticks and wiggle them a bit! We suggest that a better use of research funds is to develop simulated war thrills for these “psychos” so they can get their jollies at home without creating a danger for the rest of us. kittoh@storm.ca
Posted by MNN www.mohawknationnews.com
SOURCES-DND Search engine http://www.index.forces.gc.ca/search.aspx?language=en-CAPhoto of Don Maracle and Peter MacKay http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Minister/gallery/photos_e.asp?id=12MacKay.P@parl.gc.ca,-Defence Construction Canada, a Crown Corporation, handles all DND construction. Contact Assistant Deputy Minister/Infrastructure and Environment, Scott Stevenson http://www.dcc-cdc.gc.ca/; DCC Contract Awards http://www.dcc-cdc.gc.ca/inform/ContractAwards.htmhttp://www.admie.forces.gc.ca/index-eng.aspContact(s)at Public Works who purchase UAV's for Canada's to use in Afghanistan and elsewhere: Sinkinson, John Telephone No. - (613) 943-3492 Fax No. (613) 944-7870Nurul Haque Telephone No. - (819) 956-0161 Fax No. - (819) 956-0549-About UAV's: http://www.uavforum.com/users/users.htm http://www.spacewar.com/http://www.livingroom.org.au/uavblog/ http://www.military-aerospace-technology.com/MILITARY INDUSTRY CORPORATIONS:-Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) http://www.iai.co.il/-General Atomics' Aeronautical Systems http://www.ga-asi.com/-Taskforce Engineering http://www.taskforce-eng.com/ Peter Kempenaar Sales/Estimating (613)966-5600 ext. 101, David Brown Engineering/Construction ext.102-Thales Group http://www.thales-systems.ca/-General Dynamics Canada http://www.gdcanada.com info@gdcanada.com 3785 Richmond Rd Ottawa, Ontario K2H 5B7 Canada Tel.: +1 613 596-7000 Fax: +1 613 596-7396-Advanced Ceramics Research (ACR) 3292 East Hemisphere Loop Tucson, AZ, 85706-5013Tel: (520)573-6300 Fax: (520)573-2057 info@acrtucson.comhttp://www.acrtucson.com/UAV/silverfox/index.htm http://www.acrtucson.com/company/TrioTrek.html Privately owned, specializing in advanced materials and small UAVs. Founded 1989. HQ Tucson. Facilities in the Washington D.C. Installations on Tohono O’odham Reservation in Tucson. 80 employees. Aerospace, automotive and defense programs. 3 UAV platforms and support capabilities for military and scientific research. Contact: Woody Berzins (C) 703-371-8081; (O) 520-573-6300 -Teal Group Corporation 3900 University Drive Suite 220 Fairfax, VA 22030 Toll Free: (888) 994-TEAL (8325) Tel: (703) 385-1992 Fax: (703) 691-9591 custserv@tealgroup.com
See Category: “ Tyendinaga “ New MNN Books Available Now!

Mato Nunpa: Arrests and genocide at Minnesota's Sesquicentennial

From Chris Mato Nunpa (Dakota)

HI ALL,

Tonight, around 8:15 PM, one of our attorneys (in the 1805 Treaty litigation), Barb Nimis, called and said that my younger daughter, Waziyata Win (Dr. Angela Cavender Wilson) had been arrested, again. Waziyata Win told the officers that she is a Dakota person, that Minnesota is Dakota land, and that she was only telling the truth. In addition, two other Anishinabe persons had been arrested, Steve Blake, and a woman called Flower. These people were peacefully protesting, with signs, posters, banners, drums, and a gallows with 38 nooses hanging from it. Angela was arrested for Disorderly Conduct and let go. Steve Blake, with a hand drum, was singing a honor song for the 38 Dakota (hence, the 38 nooses) men who were hanged at Mankato, MN on December 26, 1862 in what was and is the largest mass execution in the history of the United States. Four officers descended upon Steve and attacked him, who is a sickly man and had just gotten out of the hospital. The woman named Flower rushed to help and, apparently, hit an officer. Steve, now, is in the hospital and Flower is in Ramsey hospital. It seems that these officers have instructions to harass, intimidate, and arrest Dakota People, with the apparent blessing of the Sesquicentennial Commission, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the other white supremacists and racists who do not want to hear the TRUTH about bounties, concentration camps, forced marches, forced removals/ethnic cleansing; warfare, massive land theft, broken treaties, genocide, etc. I urge all of our friends, supporters, and allies to be there with us when we peacefully demonstrate, show our posters, carry our banners, and hand out our pamphlets and flyers to tell the TRUTH. We need all of our allies - white, black, Mexican, other Indigenous Peoples - to stand there in support and solidarity, to be there with their cameras, the video cameras, to observe what happens to the Dakota People and their supporters when they tell the TRUTH. We need white people to march with us. The cops will think twice before bashing our heads with their batons, before arresting us, before saying some of the racist and intimidating things they are fond of saying, if some white people are there with us. The cops know that if it is an "Indian's" word against the word of a white cop that there will be NO credence given to the Native person. However, if a white person sees what is happening, the cop will fear, or at least think twice before he does what he wants to do to Native Peoples. That is to hit them, beat them. One cop, at Ft. Snelling, on Sat. 5/10 was heard to say that he was looking forward to do a little "thumping", meaning beating the crap out of the Dakota People. It seems that the arrests are increasing and the violence is intensifying against our Dakota People and their Anishinabe supporters and other allies. I see this trend continuing as we implement and execute our other planned and peaceful activities. As Dakota People, who comprise about 5 10-thousandths of a percent of the total population of approximately 5-and-a-half million people in the state of Minnesota. We are struggling against overwhelming odds - "they" have the troops and cops, the horses (like at Ft. Snelling), the guns, the tanks, the tasers, and their law, especially their law which is their legal ideology which is used to enforce the exploitation of the Indigenous Peoples and their continued oppression. However, many of us Dakota feel we have TRUTH and our spirituality to fight against these overwhelming odds, and we are optimistically believing that TRUTH will prevail. I wish to thank all the allies and supporters out there who have supported our efforts and activities to highlight the Dakota voice, to get the Dakota perspective out there. We thank you for being at our EVENT ONE activities: 1A - the posters and banners on the Mendota bridge during rush hour, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, on Fri. 5/09; 1B - the greeting of the wagon train at Ft. Snelling, on Sat. 5/10, at which seven people, including me, were arrested; 1C - the public rally at the State Capitol, on Sun. 5/11. We are going to need all of you at the remaining four (4) activities that we have planned for the Sesquicentennial year of 2008 in our efforts to get the TRUTH out there, the TRUTH of what really happened in this state between the stealers/settlers and the Dakota People:
EVENT TWO - the exercising of our original and traditional fishing rights in one of the lakes in the ceded area, 155,000+ acres, of the Treaty of 1805;
EVENT THREE - the trial of Ramsey and Sibley for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity; EVENT FOUR - which we will mention later; and EVENT FIVE - a legislative activity. Thank you for listening to me.
Chris Mato Nunpa 320.981-0206 (cell) " matonunpa@earthlink.net "

Photo: Chris Mato Nunpa, supporting Yankton in South Dakota/Photo Brenda Norrell

UN Rapporteur to document racism in US

XENOPHOBIA in America

Racism and discrimination of Indigenous Peoples, migrants and women in US to be probed during UN Rapporteur visit

U.N. Independent Expert On Racism Begins Fact-Finding Mission In U.S.

Photo by Brenda Norrell/Mike Wilson, Tohono O'odham, points
to the places on the Tohono O'odham Nation where migrants have
died. At the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas II in October, Wilson said, "No one should die for want of a drink of water." Wilson, who puts out water for migrants, stands next to many of his water jugs which were slashed by those who oppose his effort. Thousands of migrants have died along the US/Mexico border in search of a better life, as US corporations seize the land and water in Mexico and Central America. (Double click image to enlarge.)

By ACLU

WASHINGTON - Several national civil liberties and human rights groups today welcomed a fact-finding mission to the U.S. by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The American Civil Liberties Union, Global Rights, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, the U.S. Human Rights Network, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Rights Working Group and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty call on the U.S., state and local governments to fully cooperate with the special rapporteur.
"The visit of the special rapporteur is a critical opportunity to shed light on the pervasive and systemic problem of racism and discrimination in the United States," said Jamil Dakwar, Director of the ACLU Human Rights Program. "In this election year, the eyes of the world will be turned toward America and its longstanding promise to end racial and ethnic inequalities."
At the invitation of the U.S. government, Special Rapporteur Doudou Diène is visiting the U.S. from May 18 to June 6 to examine issues of racism and racial discrimination in this country. Diène will visit Washington, New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico over the next three weeks where he will study incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the governmental measures in place to address them.
Diène is scheduled to meet with federal and local government officials as well as members of diverse communities across the United States and representatives of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
"The special rapporteur's visit presents a unique opportunity to give voice to those combating racism in the U.S. and will bring our concerns to the U.N. and its enforcement mechanisms," said Aubrey McCutcheon, Director of Programs at Global Rights. "I am confident Mr. Diène's visit will heighten our efforts towards eliminating racism and its vestiges."
In March 2008, the separate U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued a strongly worded critique of the United States' record on racial discrimination and urged the government to make sweeping reforms to policies affecting racial and ethnic minorities, women, immigrants and indigenous populations in the U.S. Several civil liberties and human rights organizations have urged the special rapporteur to critically examine the continuation of racism and racial discrimination in various areas identified by CERD and well documented in extensive NGO reports, including criminal justice, education, housing, juvenile justice, immigration policy, police brutality, hate crimes and racial profiling.
The mandate of the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance was established in 1993 by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and further extended by the U.N. Human Rights Council. The special rapporteur will submit a final report on the visit to the Human Rights Council in the spring of 2009.
More information about the special rapporteur's visit is available online at: www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/sronracism.html and www.ushrnetwork.org/special_rep
More information about the CERD recommendations to the U.S. is available at: www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/cerd.html and www.ushrnetwork.org/projects/cerd
International Indian Treaty Council: Shadow Report
http://www.treatycouncil.org/section_211417112111211211.htm


Alert from the International Indian Treaty Council, which is monitoring this situation:

Solidarity Statement Concerning Guatemalans in Detention after ICE Raid in Postville, Iowa

May 14, 2008
By Amalia Anderson, Carlos Ariel, Axel Fuentes, Reginaldo Haslett
Marroquín and Ana Nájera Mendoza,
"No one should be subjected to arbitrary arrests, detention or exile." Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”
Article 9, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
As Guatemalans (by birth and by family origin) living in the United States we strongly condemn the Postville, Iowa raid--the largest single-site enforcement operation of its kind in the history of the United States. Of the390 workers reportedly detained, nearly three hundred are from Guatemala. According to statistics from the United Nations, over 125 million people throughout the world live and work outside their countries of origin. Human migration is a global phenomenon fueled by war, persecution, economic and social inequality, environmental disaster, and poverty. International migration will continue until the underlying causes forcing people from their homelands are eliminated. As Guatemalans, we are too familiar with Human Rights violations and their lasting effects. During our country’s 36-year long civil war: 200,000 people were killed or disappeared and as many as 1.5 million people were displaced internally or forced to flee the country. U.S. funding and training underwrote the war – leaving the country in shambles and forcing many to leave. Those of us able to publicly sign this letter and our brothers and sisters sitting now in detention centers and unable to sign this letter, came to this
country fleeing the effects of the U.S. funded, civil war. As over three hundred Guatemalans now sit in detention in Iowa, we ask you to grieve with us and protest the obvious irony.
According to the U.S. Constitution, all people residing in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to due process of law. The United States is committed to principles of democracy and fairness, yet hundreds of people are detained--frequently without access to counsel and without contact from their families. Many are terrified at the possibility of being returned to a home they may no longer know, or where they will be unable to earn a living wage. In the case of Guatemala, we must not forget the additional challenges of returning to a country devastated by decades of civil war. The U.S. policy of detaining and deporting people does not address these realities. The recent Postville Raids raises questions about the continued role the United States government plays in the lives of Guatemalans. Unlike the war years, however, we now have the opportunity to ensure that core U.S. values of democracy and fairness prevail! On behalf of our brothers and sisters in detention—we call
for transparent, fair and humane treatment in accordance with our U.S. constitutional norms of due process and equal protection. We believe that all human beings in this country have a right to be treated with dignity and respect, even in situations of detention and arrest. Though nothing can undo the destruction caused by the civil war in Guatemala, we are currently presented with an opportunity to stand up and not allow the legacy of our government’s past to continue in the present and the future. Fellow Guatemalans, join us!
For more information, or to add your name please contact:
Regi Marroquín: regimarroquin@hotmail.com
amalia anderson: amalia1609@gmail.com/ 651-269-1781

Yankton: Hogfarm speeds up construction, violates Yankton court order

Listen to the Yankton interviews, Earthcycles was on site where the hogfarm has speeded up construction and refuses to halt and obey a Yankton Sioux court injunction:

Drums:
35:2016.17 Mb
2008-04-30_drummutualaidcall.mp3
Interviews:

2008-04-30_updateone.mp3
35:2016.17 Mb
36:1116.57 Mb
2008-04-30_buzz.mp3
On the Ground , Point of View ,
51:4823.72 Mb
2008-04-30_ironeagle.mp3
14:166.54 Mb
2008-05-02_theissue.mp3
30:3614.01 Mb
2008-05-02_colonialism.mp3 second
34:2715.77 Mb
2008-05-02_hogsmog.mp3 third
28:5813.27 Mb
2008-05-02_4thoughts.mp3 fourth
25:4411.79 Mb
2008-05-02_mysonisalive.mp3
14:186.55 Mb
2008-05-02_genocide.mp3 one hour six minutes
h30.42 Mb
2008-05-02_update.mp3
07:523.6 Mb

Earthcycles: http://www.earthcycles.net/

Remembering Sand Creek

Listen online: Interviews of the Longest Walkers after dawn prayers at the Sand Creek Memorial Site in eastern Colorado, where Cheyenne Arapaho women and children were slaughtered:
Download Audio File
Play Audio Inline
Length/Size
2008-04-04_sandcreekjimbo.mp3
33:1511.42 Mb
2008-04-04_sandcreekrichardjimbo.mp3
27:139.34 Mb
2008-04-04_sandcreekrebecca.mp3
19:586.86 Mb
2008-04-04_harrypruyne.mp3
30:1210.37 Mb

Interviews with Marty Chase Alone and Emma Chase Alone. Marty Chase Alone, Lakota, conducted the wiping of the tears and releasing the spirits ceremonies at Sand Creek. Listen to the interviews in Eads, Colorado, following the ceremonies:

2008-04-06_emmachasealonnewest.mp3
32:2011.11 Mb
2008-04-06_martychasealone.mp3
one hour one minute 50 sec
h21.23 Mb

WATCH VIDEO: Sand Creek Massacre
http://www.maxmouth.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ec8e48cf3d026e173a43

The Children Who Never Came Home

Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared Children

V A N C O U V E R - W I N N I P E G - T O R O N TO
www.hiddenfromhistory.org/

Monday, May 18, 2008
Chiefs, Elders, Clan Mothers, Warrior Societies andall Original People of Turtle Island,
Sago, Aaniin, Kii-te-daas a, Asujutidli, Tán’si, Kwé,
We, the Friends & Relatives of the Disappeared Children – Vancouver, Winnipeg & Toronto, have come together to address the Chiefs, the Elders, the Clan Mothers, the Warrior Societies, and all the First Peoples from across this great land of Turtle Island.
It is our hope to continue to raise awareness of the tens of thousands of Native children who died or who disappeared from the Canadian Indian ResidentialSchool system and never came home. We have been organizing co-ordinated events across Canada at the doors of the United, Anglican, and Catholic churches,including at their head offices, for several month snow.
As many of you may know, we have been speaking to, and gathering the stories from many survivors of the Indian Residential Schools. We are not the first nor will we be the last to do this. There are currently,approximately 80 000 living survivors of Residential Schools. Eighty thousand stories that may be told to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, however,there are approximately another 50 000 stories that are still hidden from history.
It is primarily these remaining hidden stories that we are interested in. These are the stories belonging to the children that never returned home. Who were these children? What happened to these children? Did they die on the site of the school or at the school’s hospital? Did they run away? Were they successful in running away? Did they only get so far in their attempt to escape? We know that the death rate at these institutions was approximately 50% for about 40years, due in a large part to the neglect of disease,but also to other horrendous forms of abuse. So, we are going to continue to ask the question … “What happened to the bodies of these children?” until we get answers and the full truth is known. Were they cremated or were they buried? Were they all buried on the site of the schools or the hospitals? We know from the stories of some survivors that burials did take place on site. Some children were sent home to die. Stories continue to pour in daily from across the country and are being documented by the FRD. If you have a story to tell or know of anyone who does,or if you know of other burial locations please call1-888-265-1007.
What we are asking for now is help in protecting the sites that have already been identified. It has been suggested that we protect these sites with “Keepers of The Spirits” – Warrior Societies and others who may be able to take up that vigil – a vigil which some may wish to tie into National Action events. Recently we issued a press release identifying 28 possible burial locations of these children. That number has now grown to 35 locations, due to new eye-witness accounts. We would like to open a network of communication amongst all who are interested in pursuing truth and justice, and so we are willing toshare this information.
Together, we need to decide what should be done a boutany evidence that is forthcoming, as well as what should happen to the remains of the children.Nya’:weh, Chii Miigwetch, Háw’aa, Quajanaq, Mikwec,Welálin,
Friends & Relatives of the Disappeared Children - Vancouver - Winnipeg - Toronto -
1-888-265-1007 (toll-free in Canada)
____________________________________
"Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race." - Martin Luther King Jr.
Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust
The untold story of the genocide of Aboriginal peoples in Canada
http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/
Sign the petition against Aboriginal genocide in Canada:
http://www.petitiononline.com/watergod/petition-sign.html

Carbon trading scam, listen to Tom Goldtooth on Earthcycles

By Brenda Norrell

Listen online to Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, discuss the World Bank's carbon trading scam, where corporations pay money so they can continue to pollute.
Listen to Goldtooth's interview with Earthcycles on the Longest Walk Talk Radio:
2008-05-15_tomgoldtooth.mp3
The protest of IEN and Indigneous Peoples in Bali, over the carbon credit scam and exclusion from climate talks, was the subject of an article on this blog, Censored News, which was selected last week by Project Censored as one of the 25 most censored articles of 2007-2008. The article will appear in the 2009 Project Censored book.
Special thanks to Jihan Gearon, Navajo, and Ben Powless, Mohawk, Indigenous youths representing IEN in Bali, for their photos and articles.

Photo: UN Climate Conference 2007 in Bali/Photo Jihan Gearon and Ben Powless

The Indigenous Environmental Network's annual conference will be held July 17 - 20, 2008 in Western Shoshone territory at the Southfork Powwow grounds in Lee, Nevada.
http://www.ienearth.org/
Topics to Include: Traditional L.A.W.S. (Land, Air, Water, Sun)
Global warming, climate change and energy through teachings
youth and elders meetings, rescinding the Doctrine of Discovery. Traditional camping. Conference Hosted By:
SOGOBE (Western Shoshone) TERRITORIES SO HO BEE

A Tour of the Desecration: The Longest Walk is Taking Notes

A Tour of the Desecration: The Longest Walk is Taking Notes
On February 11, the Longest Walk 2008 embarked on a five-month journey from San Francisco to Washington, DC. This second Longest Walk not only marks the 30th anniversary of the first Longest Walk of 1978, which resulted in historic changes for Native America, but more importantly, it is taking note of the desecration of our environment. The goal of this walk is to bring attention to the massive destruction that is going on all around us. Our world is in peril, and the Native American worldviews that have had to fight for their very existence hold some of the answers to these problems.

By Pathfinder
Earth First! Journal
On February 11, the Longest Walk 2008 embarked on a five-month journey from San Francisco to Washington, DC. This second Longest Walk not only marks the 30th anniversary of the first Longest Walk of 1978, which resulted in historic changes for Native America, but more importantly, it is taking note of the desecration of our environment. The goal of this walk is to bring attention to the massive destruction that is going on all around us. Our world is in peril, and the Native American worldviews that have had to fight for their very existence hold some of the answers to these problems.The original Longest Walk was conducted in response to 11 proposed bills in Congress that would have annulled treaties protecting Native American sovereignty and furthered an American history that has continually chipped away at the very existence of indigenous cultures.“In 1978, our communities faced many hardships, such as nonexistent religious rights and the criminalization of our people who fought for cultural survival. This is why the Longest Walk was necessary,” said Jimbo Simmons of the International Indian Treaty Council.Starting out with just 17 people in San Francisco, the original walk ballooned to 30,000 by the time it reached Washington, to stand at the doors of Congress and defeat those 11 bills. In the following month, participants pushed for the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. As a result of the walk, indigenous people were granted the federal legislative right to freedom of religion—a fundamental right guaranteed to all other Americans under the US Constitution.“As indigenous peoples in the US, our environment and our cultural survival are directly correlated and are still imperiled today. This is why we must walk once again,” added Simmons.The religions of native cultures are directly intertwined with the land. When the land is in danger, the very existence of our culture is in danger. When you consider the problems we are facing in this country due to global warming, resource extraction, nuclear waste dumping, deforestation and water pollution, you start to see what a great danger we are all in—not just spiritually, but mentally and physically. Once again, it is time to take a stand—or in this case, a walk!The Longest Walk 2008 is taking two routes. The northern route will follow the original route across 11 states and 3,600 miles. The southern route will follow another route across 13 states and 4,400 miles. Both routes will visit sacred sites across the US and promote awareness of sacred sites protection and environmental preservation.In past years, Dennis Banks, the southern route coordinator, has done sacred runs from San Francisco to Washington. During that time, he and others began to notice that sage, a plant sacred to many indigenous cultures, was living amid garbage along the roadways. In the spirit of protecting a sacred plant, we have also launched the Clean Up Mother Earth campaign, where Longest Walk participants clean our country’s highways and roads by collecting debris found along the Longest Walk route. In the first 40 days, we have collected more than 1,000 bags of trash.In addition to this, the walkers are paying attention to the world around them as they go, stopping in communities to talk to the people there. After taking note of the problems we all face from the destruction of our environment, the walkers are going to come together in a Cultural Survival Summit in Washington. Then, once again, they will knock on Congress’s door to tell it the story of the Great Walk and all they saw.What Have We Seen So Far?In Berkeley, California, at the very first steps of the walk, we witnessed treesitters trying to protect a grove of oak trees from development by the University of California-Berkeley (UCB). These oak trees were planted in 1923 on top of an Ohlone Indian burial ground, interestingly enough, to memorialize Californians who died in World War I. These activists have been treesitting now for more than 500 days. The group responsible for the sit has more demands than just saving the trees, though. It wants the repatriation of 13,000 native remains held at UCB’s Phoebe Hearst Museum and an end to UCB involvement in nuclear weapons design and research. In addition, it is demanding the preservation of Strawberry Canyon, a green belt where the grove and stadium are located, which also hosts Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, an Energy-Department-funded research facility dating back to the Manhattan Project and now slated to expand with a nanotech lab dubbed the “Molecular Foundry.”Only one mile into the walk, there is already a lifetime of work to be done. However, we must venture on to Bakersfield, California. As walker Kaelen Holmes puts it, “The agriculture in California is disgusting. Bakersfield’s oil, agriculture and relative elevation make it one of the most sickeningly polluted places I have ever seen.”If you are wondering where spinach and E. coli met, it was in Bakersfield, where it is a regular occurrence to spread sludge removed from toilet water and industrial sewage on the crops because it’s “nitrogen rich.” Of course, this sludge is also rich in pathogens, heavy metals and pharmaceuticals.Further along the south route, the walk stayed with the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, which is dealing with chromium contamination. According to Marc Lifsher of the Los Angeles Times, “From 1951 to 1969, Pacific Gas and Electric dumped at least 108 million gallons of water laced with hexavalent chromium into the ground around Topock. The utility used the chemical compound, a known carcinogen referred to as chromium-6 and made infamous by the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich, to prevent corrosion and retard the growth of mold in a cooling tower at a compressor station that pushes natural gas through its pipelines.”Walking across the California-Arizona border and into the Grand Canyon to visit the Havasupai Tribe, the group was informed of huge piles of uranium tailings that sit just feet from the Colorado River. These tailings have been affecting the health of the Havasupai since the 1950s uranium boom. They are now trying to deal with the fact that the Bush administration is once again attempting to open that area up to uranium mining.We moved out of the Grand Canyon and into Flagstaff, Arizona, where the Save the Peaks Coalition has been holding the US Forest Service (USFS) at bay for the past seven years in the USFS’s plans to use treated sewage effluent to make fake snow at Arizona Snowbowl, a ski resort on the San Francisco Peaks. This area is completely surrounded by land with a wilderness designation. These same peaks are considered sacred by more than 17 Arizona tribes, and this treated sewer water would literally destroy the power of the medicines gathered on the mountain by those tribes. According to the Hopi, it is also home to the deities known as Kachinas.From Flagstaff, we head to Black Mesa, on the Diné Nations, where the federal government has allowed Peabody Coal to build stripmines and use pristine aquifer water to slurry the coal more than 200 miles to a power generating station. This use of water has led to aquifer depletion and local springs drying up. This coal mining has also polluted local water supplies to the point where animals have been seen to drink from the springs and die overnight.Meanwhile, up in Colorado, the north route has been paying attention, too. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter issued a proclamation that March was Longest Walk Month in Colorado. After Ritter’s proclamation was read on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, Longest Walkers proceeded in a prayer vigil to Newmont Mining Corporation. They did not back down when Newmont’s security forces called the Denver police. They continued with a drum song and prayer vigil when faced with arrest. Simmons then read to a representative of Newmont the demands of the Western Shoshone: that Newmont and other mining companies halt the destruction. Newmont’s representative declined to comment.We still have a few thousand miles to go. Already, we have witnessed the destruction of the environment in mind-boggling quantities. It looks as though we will be issuing a very large book to Congress when we get to Washington.If you are interested in coming on the walk, helping out in your town or just want more information, visit www.longestwalk.org. For a live broadcast from the northern route, visit www.earthcycles.net. For more information about the northern route, visit www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com.Pathfinder is sitting at his computer wishing he was able to walk, too! But somebody needs to update the website and make sure that Oklahoma is ready for 100 or more walkers. See you in DC!Links to Threatened Sacred Sites•Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: www.arcticrefugeaction.org•Bear Butte, South Dakota: www.defendblackhills.org•Black Mesa, Arizona: www.blackmesais.org, www.blackmesawatercoalition.org•Cave Rock, Nevada: www.petitiononline.com/caverock•Haskell-Baker Wetlands, Kansas: www.savethewetlands.org•Mauna Kea, Hawaii: www.kahea.org/maunakea•Medicine Lake, California: www.mountshastaecology.org•Mt. Graham, Arizona: www.mountgraham.org•Mt. Shasta, California: www.protectourwaters.org•Mt. Tenabo, Nevada: www.wsdp.org•Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico: www.sagecouncil.org•San Francisco Peaks, Arizona: www.savethepeaks.org•Shellmounds, California: www.vallejointertribalcouncil.org•Woodruff Butte, Arizona: www.sacredland.org•Yucca Mountain, Nevada: www.wsdp.orghttp://www.earthfirstjournal.org/article.php?id=367

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www.longestwalk.org
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