Newmont protest in Denver, hotel revokes Carrie Dann ceremony
August 29, 2007Contacts:Paula Palmer, Global Response, 303 444-0306 ext.103 paula@globalresponse.orgGlenn Morris, Colorado American Indian Movement, 303 519-2423, gtm303@gmail.comBetty Ball, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, 303 444 6981, betty@rmpjc.orgJuan Stewart, CU Indigenous Support Network, 303 506 9648, juan.stewart@colorado.eduKara Martinez, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, 303 623 1463, kara@denjustpeace.orgGlenn Spagnuola, Stop Newmont Coalition, 720-771-4669, rockymtn.spags@att.net
Human Rights and Environmental Groups to Protest Award to Newmont CEO
Marriott Hotel Revokes Contract for Alternative Award Ceremony to Western Shoshone Carrie Dann
When Denver’s elite arrive at the Downtown Marriott Hotel for Denver University’s annual fund-raising Korbel Dinner on Aug 30, they will be met by protesters from around the state.While DU’s Graduate School of International Studies presents its “International Bridge-Building Award” to Newmont CEO Wayne Murdy, protesters will serve Murdy with a Citation for building Newmont’s bridge on a foundation of human rights and environmental abuses. GSIS Dean Tom Farer has refused to revoke the award to Murdy, over objections from a majority of GSIS tenured faculty and protests from communities that are directly affected by Newmont gold mines around the world.The protesters, representing a host of Colorado-based non-profit organizations, will present what they call the “REAL International Bridge Builder’s Award” to Western Shoshone elder Carrie Dann. But the honoring ceremony will have to be held on public sidewalks now because the Marriott revoked the groups’ contract to hold the honoring ceremony in the Hotel’s Molly Brown room. More information on the Western Shoshone can be found at http://www.wsdp.org/.In an email to the groups, Marriott’s Director of Event Planning Joe Humerickhouse wrote that the “Hotel see (sic) the Thursday event "Presentation by Carrie Dann" as a conflict of interest to a current piece of business” -- clearly a reference to DU’s Korbel Dinner.It is unknown who pressured the Marriott to revoke its contract for the meeting room, but Glenn Morris of Colorado’s American Indian Movement, said, “This is reminiscent of Newmont changing the location for its annual shareholder's meeting three times a couple of years ago, for fear of negative scrutiny. Newmont doesn't want its record exposed, DU is embarrassed, and their response is to muscle the Marriott into trying to silence our voice by denying us a venue. Of course, they will not succeed, and we will be there, and we will have our say.”In Western Shoshone Territories, a Newmont miner was reported missing yesterday after a cave-in at a mine owned jointly by Newmont and Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. It is feared the miner is trapped in the underground Getchell Mine. In June, another miner was killed when ground gave way at Newmont’s Midas mine. Both mines are near Winnemucca, Nevada.On five continents, Newmont-affected communities are constantly engaged in protests, marches and litigation to defend their natural resources and their rights. Oxfam America, Amnesty International and the World Resources Institute have documented community charges against Newmont for contaminating drinking water; polluting rivers and oceans with toxic waste including cyanide, mercury and arsenic; colluding with police and military in order to intimidate, brutalize and detain community activists; bribery; and depriving local fishermen and farmers of their lands and livelihoods.In April, Newmont shareholders passed a resolution requiring an investigation into the company’s relations with the communities affected by its mines. A report will be presented to shareholders at the 2008 meeting. “Why is DU giving an award to a corporation whose own shareholders have moved to investigate the negative human rights and environmental impacts of their operations?” asks Kara Martinez, a GSIS alumna who coordinates the Denver Justice and Peace Committee.“This award is an unforgivable affront to many thousands of people whose lives, livelihoods and natural resources are forever marred by Newmont’s mines,” says Paula Palmer, executive director of Boulder-based Global Response.Carrie Dann, representing the Western Shoshone Defense Project, said, “Newmont has done nothing to address the impact of their operations on the ongoing human rights violations against the Western Shoshone.”The Colorado American Indian Movement, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Global Response, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, the Stop Newmont Coalition and the University of Colorado’s Indigenous Support Network are calling on their members and all concerned citizens to to gather for a civil demonstration outside of the Marriott Hotel (California and 17th Street) at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 30th. Protest organizers have pledged their commitment to non-violence.
Western Shoshone Defense ProjectSo-Ho-Bi (South Fork) office:775-744-2565 (fax and phone)Main office:P.O. Box 211308Crescent Valley, NV 89821Newe Sogobi775-468-0230775-468-0237 (fax)
Open Letter from Tom Rowe,Former Dean of DU’s Graduate School of International Studies
Dr. Rowe is Associate Professor and has been a GSIS faculty member for 33 years. From 1981 to 1996, he served as Associate Dean and then Dean of the School.
Why Wayne Murdy Should NOT Be Honored with GSIS’International Bridge-Builder’s Award
On Thursday, August 30, the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), University of Denver, will honor Wayne Murdy, Chairman of Newmont Mining Corporation, with the International Bridge Builders Award at GSIS’ annual Korbel Dinner. This unfortunate action conflicts with GSIS’ long-standing tradition of concern with advancing the human rights of marginalized and oppressed individuals and groups. The award has been justified by the notion that Murdy has struggled to push Newmont, a company with a deplorable environmental and human rights record and a negative image in many communities around the world, toward greater social responsibility and a greater commitment to human rights. In reality, however, as Murdy moves toward retirement, after 15 years as a senior executive with the company, Newmont’s operations on the ground do not measure up to the values to which it claims to be committed. Having served for years as CEO and Chairman of Newmont, surely Murdy bears some responsibility for what the corporation does as well as what it says. We have had enough cases of senior leaders receiving awards while all misbehavior is blamed on subordinates.It is true that Newmont, under Murdy’s leadership, now says it accepts some voluntary guidelines for protecting communities, human rights and the environment. The United Nations’ “Global Compact” and the “Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance” are among the agreements. These do not create legal obligations and are not enforceable, so it is difficult to use them to bring real change in corporate behavior. But they do give the appearance of positive measures. Indeed, it is this formal commitment to social responsibility that the Dean of GSIS believes justifies an honor for Murdy, not the actual behavior of the corporation.The majority of the permanent faculty members at GSIS have opposed the award to Murdy on the grounds that the commitment to human rights and social responsibility seems to be for public relations purposes, since these values are not reflected in Newmont’s operations. In Peru, at Newmont’s Yanacocha mine, on-going controversies and protests have led to widespread violence, intimidation and even murder of critics of Newmont’s operations. A recent publication from the World Resources Institute actually uses Newmont’s mine in Peru as a case study of what corporations should NOT do if they want to operate effectively and fairly within local communities. In Indonesia, as the most recent issue of MOTHER JONES indicates, controversies continue to swirl around the environmental damage to Buyat Bay and health consequences for local villagers. In Ghana, thousands of local farmers have been displaced and traditional livelihoods have been destroyed by Newmont’s mining operations; and local activists contend that Newmont works with local authorities to abuse and imprison critics. In North America, Newmont operates on Western Shoshone lands without their permission, damaging and destroying sacred sites and the environment and paying no royalties to the Western Shoshone for taking their land or resources. In all of these cases, Newmont contends that it operates in accordance with local laws, which may be true. But evidence suggests a much too cozy relationship with local governments and officials. Moreover, if Newmont were really committed to behaving responsibly, it would simply do the right thing, whether legally required to do so or not. Newmont should not use weak laws to justify its own abusive behavior!For all of these reasons, it is at best premature for GSIS to give any award to Murdy or Newmont. At Newmont’s shareholders’ meeting this spring, it was decided that, because of the widespread controversies and negative reports, there needed to be an independent study made of Newmont’s operations and their impact on local communities. If GSIS wants to advance the cause of social responsibility and human rights protection, it ought at least to await the conclusion of that review.If GSIS is truly concerned with advancing human rights, protection of the environment and social responsibility, however, there are more appropriate individuals to honor than the chief executive of a huge corporation which has disrupted the lives of individuals and communities around the world. One possibility might be Mirtha Vasquez Chuquilin, who has been threatened with rape and murder for her work in Peru on behalf of communities protesting the operations of Newmont’s Yanacocha mine there. Another might be Carrie Dann, a courageous woman who has fought for years for the rights of American Indians against the US Government and Newmont and other mining companies. She and other activists have received strong support for their efforts from the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. Still another might be Masnellyarti Hilman, the Deputy Minister of Environment in Indonesia and Newmont’s nemesis there because of accusations of terrible environmental damage to Buyat Bay and the villagers living around that Bay. Ms Hilman studied at the Colorado School of Mines on a US State Department fellowship in the 1990s. Or the honor might go to Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, the Executive Director of WACAM in Ghana, a nonprofit that has struggled to protect the rights of thousands of villagers displaced and inadequately compensated for farmland and forests destroyed to make way for Newmont’s mining.These and other unsung heroes who struggle on a daily basis for human rights and a decent environment, often at great sacrifice and sometimes even at considerable risk to their lives, are those who truly carry the burden of change and improvement. They may not be wealthy or individually powerful but they are nonetheless those GSIS should be recognizing and honoring for their attempts to build bridges to a better world.Please join us for the real “Bridge-Builder Award”Presented to Western Shoshone elderCarrie DannDenver Marriott Hotel, 17th and CaliforniaAug. 30 at 7:30 pm, Molly Brown Room (ask desk for location)Carrie Dann will accept the award on behalf of community activists in Peru, Ghana, Romania, Indonesia and Nevada who have created a worldwide network of resistance to Newmont’s abusive practices.Wayne Murdy will be served with a Citation for Building Bridges on a foundation of Environmental and Human Rights AbusesCOMMENT/QUESTION:We got news of the miner trapped in the Getchell Mine yesterday. (Curtis Johnson) I have not seen anything about this in the Denver papers. Nor about the death of Dan Shaw at Newmont’s Midas mine in June. Why is there so much media about the trapped miners inUtah and not a word about these deaths in Nevada?Photo: Carrie and Mary Dann. Photo Western Shoshone Defense Project.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Algonquin pow-wow Sept. 1, 2007
Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Allies,
Mohawk Nation News has taken a strong sovereignist position in support of the Sharbot Lake issue. We think that Canada must adhere to their request for a nation-to-nation relationship according to Algonquin, Canadian and international law.The Algonquins are having a pow wow at Ardoch Lake on September 1st. See the poster below for information. We ecnourage all our brothers, sisters, friends and allies, native and non-native, to come and stand by and support the Algonquins in our fight against Frontenac Ventures. They want to open a uranium mine on our unsurrendered land. MREL who were making weapons and testing them on Algonquin land have now left for parts unknown, probably to turn up somewhere under another name.We should all link our arms together as the Great Law of Peace has instructed us to do, with all our Indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere. Learn more about the Algonquin issues. Find out why the Algonquins refuse to acknowledge the colonial court and have withdrawn their case completely. Come and meet the Alonqiuns, dance, listen to music, look for crafts, traditional food and much more. Watch out for the "Ronatsistokwasehton". Mostly, have a good time. MNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ARDOCH ALGONQUIN FIRST NATIONHonourary Chief: Harold Perry and Robert Lovelace4th ANNUAL RICE VICTORYCELEBRATION AND POW WOWSeptember 1st and 2nd, 2007ALL NATIONS, DANCERS, AND HAND DRUMMERS WELCOMEHost Drum - Ardoch Manomin DrumGuest Drums - Pikwakanagan Traditional DrumWhite CraneSR. Head Dancers - Karen McNaughton & Glen MarsdenJR. Head Dancers - Jillian Cota & Jordan BilowM.C. - Mitch ShewellArena Director - White SagePow Wow Grand Entry at 12:00 p.m. BOTH DAYSCrafts, Vendors and Food on Pow Wow groundsLarge Camping Area next to Pow Wow grounds by Donation Location: Clarendon Station.Directions: Take Hwy 7 to Hwy 509Go North on 509 to the Ardoch road. Turn East on the Ardoch road, this will put you on the Clerendon road.Then follow the signs.Vendor and General Information 613-375-6590Map and General Information on http://www.aafna.ca/Contact: Chief Paula Sherman paulasherman@trentu.ca; Chief DoreenDavis chiefdoreen@aol.com; JohnDavis john@plentycanada.com;RandyCota rcota@sympatico.ca
Mohawk Nation News has taken a strong sovereignist position in support of the Sharbot Lake issue. We think that Canada must adhere to their request for a nation-to-nation relationship according to Algonquin, Canadian and international law.The Algonquins are having a pow wow at Ardoch Lake on September 1st. See the poster below for information. We ecnourage all our brothers, sisters, friends and allies, native and non-native, to come and stand by and support the Algonquins in our fight against Frontenac Ventures. They want to open a uranium mine on our unsurrendered land. MREL who were making weapons and testing them on Algonquin land have now left for parts unknown, probably to turn up somewhere under another name.We should all link our arms together as the Great Law of Peace has instructed us to do, with all our Indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere. Learn more about the Algonquin issues. Find out why the Algonquins refuse to acknowledge the colonial court and have withdrawn their case completely. Come and meet the Alonqiuns, dance, listen to music, look for crafts, traditional food and much more. Watch out for the "Ronatsistokwasehton". Mostly, have a good time. MNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ARDOCH ALGONQUIN FIRST NATIONHonourary Chief: Harold Perry and Robert Lovelace4th ANNUAL RICE VICTORYCELEBRATION AND POW WOWSeptember 1st and 2nd, 2007ALL NATIONS, DANCERS, AND HAND DRUMMERS WELCOMEHost Drum - Ardoch Manomin DrumGuest Drums - Pikwakanagan Traditional DrumWhite CraneSR. Head Dancers - Karen McNaughton & Glen MarsdenJR. Head Dancers - Jillian Cota & Jordan BilowM.C. - Mitch ShewellArena Director - White SagePow Wow Grand Entry at 12:00 p.m. BOTH DAYSCrafts, Vendors and Food on Pow Wow groundsLarge Camping Area next to Pow Wow grounds by Donation Location: Clarendon Station.Directions: Take Hwy 7 to Hwy 509Go North on 509 to the Ardoch road. Turn East on the Ardoch road, this will put you on the Clerendon road.Then follow the signs.Vendor and General Information 613-375-6590Map and General Information on http://www.aafna.ca/Contact: Chief Paula Sherman paulasherman@trentu.ca; Chief DoreenDavis chiefdoreen@aol.com; JohnDavis john@plentycanada.com;RandyCota rcota@sympatico.ca
Arizona death count at the border: 199
Arizona Recovered Body Count Reaches 199 as the Department of Homeland Security Announces Plans to Increase and Expand Deadly Border Strategy
By Coalicion de Derechos Humanos
Arizona — The number of bodies recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border has reached 199 by the end of July 2007 according to data compiled by the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson-based human rights group that works to raise awareness about the deadly effects of border militarization.
Fifty-two bodies were recovered in the month of July alone, ensuring that last year’s total of 205 will surely be passed within the month of August.
Of the 52 bodies recovered in July, 36 were male, 15 female, and one whose sex is unknown because not enough of the body was recovered. With two months left in the fiscal year, the Arizona-Sonora border promises to be one of the deadliest ever recorded.
As the number of women and children dying on the border gains national media attention, the Department of Homeland Security has announced a series of reforms in order to “address border security and immigration challenges.”
Despite the increasing evidence that such strategies are directly correlated to border deaths, DHS continues to announce its intentions to stay the course on these deadly policies, planning to add an additional 18,000 Border Patrol agents, 370 miles of fencing, 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 105 camera and radar towers, and three additional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a cost that is estimated to be in the billions of taxpayer dollars.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that our government not only ignores the fact that the militarization of the Southern border has resulted in more than 5,000 deaths on the U.S.-México border, but then announces plans to expand this strategy.” says Anna O’Leary of Derechos Humanos.
“Where is the accountability to border communities for the death and human rights violations that have ensued?”
Despite DHS claims that increasing militarization of the border results in more apprehensions and fewer deaths, evidence does not support this. Research-substantiated data indicates that as vigilance is increased in a sector or area, migrants are then pushed into the most isolated, dangerous, and deadly areas, resulting in more injuries and deaths. To correlate the number of Border Patrol apprehensions to the number of recovered bodies is an erroneous way to look at migration, as many factors can affect the number of apprehensions.
“For DHS to claim that these ramped up efforts will in any way decrease the deaths on the border, or control migration, is irresponsible and disingenuous.” continued O’Leary.
“Migration is a natural phenomenon that is part and parcel of the human experience. Creating strategies that result in unnatural death is something completely of our government’s making.”
The complete list of recovered bodies is available on the Coalición de Derechos Humanos website: http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/.
This information is available to anyone who requests it from us and is used by our organization to further raise awareness of the human rights crisis we are facing on our borders.
By Coalicion de Derechos Humanos
Arizona — The number of bodies recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border has reached 199 by the end of July 2007 according to data compiled by the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson-based human rights group that works to raise awareness about the deadly effects of border militarization.
Fifty-two bodies were recovered in the month of July alone, ensuring that last year’s total of 205 will surely be passed within the month of August.
Of the 52 bodies recovered in July, 36 were male, 15 female, and one whose sex is unknown because not enough of the body was recovered. With two months left in the fiscal year, the Arizona-Sonora border promises to be one of the deadliest ever recorded.
As the number of women and children dying on the border gains national media attention, the Department of Homeland Security has announced a series of reforms in order to “address border security and immigration challenges.”
Despite the increasing evidence that such strategies are directly correlated to border deaths, DHS continues to announce its intentions to stay the course on these deadly policies, planning to add an additional 18,000 Border Patrol agents, 370 miles of fencing, 300 miles of vehicle barriers, 105 camera and radar towers, and three additional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a cost that is estimated to be in the billions of taxpayer dollars.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that our government not only ignores the fact that the militarization of the Southern border has resulted in more than 5,000 deaths on the U.S.-México border, but then announces plans to expand this strategy.” says Anna O’Leary of Derechos Humanos.
“Where is the accountability to border communities for the death and human rights violations that have ensued?”
Despite DHS claims that increasing militarization of the border results in more apprehensions and fewer deaths, evidence does not support this. Research-substantiated data indicates that as vigilance is increased in a sector or area, migrants are then pushed into the most isolated, dangerous, and deadly areas, resulting in more injuries and deaths. To correlate the number of Border Patrol apprehensions to the number of recovered bodies is an erroneous way to look at migration, as many factors can affect the number of apprehensions.
“For DHS to claim that these ramped up efforts will in any way decrease the deaths on the border, or control migration, is irresponsible and disingenuous.” continued O’Leary.
“Migration is a natural phenomenon that is part and parcel of the human experience. Creating strategies that result in unnatural death is something completely of our government’s making.”
The complete list of recovered bodies is available on the Coalición de Derechos Humanos website: http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/.
This information is available to anyone who requests it from us and is used by our organization to further raise awareness of the human rights crisis we are facing on our borders.
Algonquin resisting uranium mining, brace for police raid
Algonquin resisting uranium mining, brace for police raid
Urgent plea for help as judge orders Algonquins invaded on Wednesday, August 29, 2007Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Allies, Supporters, and Environmentalists needed!Mohawk Nation NewsAugust 28, 2007Judge Gordon Thompson has ordered the Algonquins who are blocking access to a proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake to leave immediately. The people have been told to expect the police on Wednesday, August 29th. All supporters are asked to come to the site to help maintain the peace. This is only the beginning of things to come under the conservative regime with the help of the liberals at Queen’s Park Toronto . The Bush administration in Washington DC needs uranium for their military industrial schemes.Justice Thomson has ordered the protesters to leave and allow FrontenacVentures Corporation to start uranium mining, to contaminate thewatershed of all of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, one of themost densely populated areas in Canada ."Frontenac shall have immediate, unfettered and unobstructed accessto the subject property including the field office, access road and all ofthe identified exploration property and the Clarendon site," JusticeThomson wrote. If the judge wanted to be truthful, he should have added,“and the right for Frontenac to contaminate, destroy the unborn, carry outgenetic damage to the flora and fauna of the entire area”.The interim injunction stands until a full hearing can be heard, whichincludes a $77-million lawsuit and a full injunction against the Algonquinsstarting on September 20.We are very concerned that a judge who is supposed to be impartialwould not even consider the rights of the owners of the land. This is ablatant example how our lands are being illegally expropriated. We havebeen facing these “gold rushes” all over Turtle Island .The mine gates are at highway 509 just north of Sharbot Lake , off highway7, west of Perth and 42 miles north of Kingston .The Algonquins know it’s their land. Chris Reid, the lawyer for the ArdochAlgonquins said his clients are "not going to leave”. Who is oversees JudgeThompson? He doesn’t appear to have read any Supreme Court decisionsthat provide that Indigenous people must be consulted and give their fullyinformed decision by a clear majority on a clear question, for any activityby foreigners like Frontenac or any corporate Canadian in any form.If the Algonquins are attacked, it will be a one-sided battle. The IndigenousPeople vow to protect our land and jurisdiction. The world will see howvicious and corrupt the corporate regime of Canada is. We have no physicalweapons. Our only weapon is the truth and doing what is right.The Algonquins have already warned the colonial authorities and their agentsto stop trespassing on unsurrendered land, breaching the peace andthreatening violence. They point out that colonial courts represent onlytheir adversaries and their corporate interests. A neutral third party at theinternational level is the proper forum. Frontenac Ventures Corporation istrespassing. Their intent is to exploit and kill creation. When the owners ofthe land say “no”, it’s “no”! There is nothing to negotiate.A surrender of Indigenous land must be done under their own law, theconstitution of Canada (Section 132) and international law. It must be donethrough negotiation and a vote on a clear question by the majority of the people.Even Canadian law does now allow this kind of annexation without consultation,consensus and compensation. Algonquin law does not allow the land to bealienated.The company must allow an archeologist visit the site to "determine aboriginalburial sites" and other items of significance. They are even going after ourancestors to contaminate them! Living people isn’t enough for them. It’s halfswamp. They want to create uranium contamination which turns things into aradio active soup. The judge' instructs the police to arrest anyone who stands in the way, andFrontenac cannot be stopped in its right to destroy people and the environment.This is Ottawa ’s prototype for the “final solution” of the “Indian problem”elsewhere. When it’s all done, they hope nobody will know about it.The police, probably with the help of the army, under the guidance of the U.S.Military, may be standing nearby. They will attempt to bull doze everybody,fully clad in riot gear, lethal lasers and guns. Sharpshooters, like psychoticKenneth Deane who killed Dudley George at Ipperwash, will be using us astarget practice. Remember the protest at Tiananmen Square in China in 1989.One lone tiny person stood in front of those tanks and stopped the militaryfrom killing demonstrators. Nobody wants to see women and children crushedby the might of present day neo-con totalitarianism.The police have been instructed to “use their discretion”. This is the samedisease ridden blanket they used at Ipperwash to cover their butts. Aren’tthey supposed to use their discretion at all times? Who gives the final order?Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian “Little Mouselini” Fantino?How many snipers have been assigned this time? No matter what, they donot have a right to kill us to appease the corporations who run Canada . Thisis the longtime strategy of a violent and brutal society built upon the memoriesof the blood that was shed by our ancestors for the last 500 years. All becausewe are protecting the ecosystem and our lives! Don’t they know that our jobis to protect the earth?The OPP infiltrated into the chieftainship of the Algonquins to show otherIndigenous People how far they will go to take away our lands and rights.Algonquin Chief Randy Cota, an OPP officer, will make sure the tanks cancome in. He will open the gates for them.We have a suggestion on how the OPP and all colonial corporate governmentsand their agencies can relieve themselves of their pent up urges to steal anddestroy everything in sight. They can start today and prepare for the globalsynchronized “Orgasm for Peace” that is taking place on Winter Solstice Day,Saturday, December 22nd, 2007. This is when everybody comes together tochange the energy field of the Earth through their input. It won’t work if youdon’t close your eyes. Make it easy on yourself and don’t resist, guys.[coastalpost.com].Indigenous People, supporters, do not fall for traps. The OPP will have someoneas an “agent provocateur” just like the Surete du Quebec did at Montibello.Watch out for die hard trademarks like shiny ears.This is part of an attempt at martial law for all of Turtle Island . Let us make surethat the OPP or anyone does not provoke a violent confrontation. They need areason to impose “a police state”. In our experience with these kinds of sieges,the police will stop communication, food and freedom of movement. Thecorporate media will mislead the public. The “attack will not be televised”.Only the retaliation that is staged for the public to be turned against us.Cameras and video tapes need to be there with extra batteries and chargers.Also international observers need to be inside to be the eyes and ears of theworld with an outlet for their reports.Supporters are asked to join us as soon as possible. The Ardoch and ShabotLake Algonquins will remain peaceful. Police road blocks are usually set uparound a perimeter of anywhere from six to 10 miles or closer. Needed areedical supplies, fresh water, food, tents, camping equipment, gas for thegenerators, vehicles, boats and computers. Media should be inside and outside.This has been in the works for sometime. There has been much traffic duringthe night and day which is unusual. On Sunday police were parked up theredoing radar which is a first. Canada and Ontario should keep their invading foreign forces off Algonquin land. It is not a policing issue. It’s an international issue.The unarmed and peaceful Algonquins and their supporters have been at thebarricade two months. They have held strong and continue to do so.Nia:wen,Kahentinetha HornStay tuned!http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
Urgent plea for help as judge orders Algonquins invaded on Wednesday, August 29, 2007Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Allies, Supporters, and Environmentalists needed!Mohawk Nation NewsAugust 28, 2007Judge Gordon Thompson has ordered the Algonquins who are blocking access to a proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake to leave immediately. The people have been told to expect the police on Wednesday, August 29th. All supporters are asked to come to the site to help maintain the peace. This is only the beginning of things to come under the conservative regime with the help of the liberals at Queen’s Park Toronto . The Bush administration in Washington DC needs uranium for their military industrial schemes.Justice Thomson has ordered the protesters to leave and allow FrontenacVentures Corporation to start uranium mining, to contaminate thewatershed of all of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, one of themost densely populated areas in Canada ."Frontenac shall have immediate, unfettered and unobstructed accessto the subject property including the field office, access road and all ofthe identified exploration property and the Clarendon site," JusticeThomson wrote. If the judge wanted to be truthful, he should have added,“and the right for Frontenac to contaminate, destroy the unborn, carry outgenetic damage to the flora and fauna of the entire area”.The interim injunction stands until a full hearing can be heard, whichincludes a $77-million lawsuit and a full injunction against the Algonquinsstarting on September 20.We are very concerned that a judge who is supposed to be impartialwould not even consider the rights of the owners of the land. This is ablatant example how our lands are being illegally expropriated. We havebeen facing these “gold rushes” all over Turtle Island .The mine gates are at highway 509 just north of Sharbot Lake , off highway7, west of Perth and 42 miles north of Kingston .The Algonquins know it’s their land. Chris Reid, the lawyer for the ArdochAlgonquins said his clients are "not going to leave”. Who is oversees JudgeThompson? He doesn’t appear to have read any Supreme Court decisionsthat provide that Indigenous people must be consulted and give their fullyinformed decision by a clear majority on a clear question, for any activityby foreigners like Frontenac or any corporate Canadian in any form.If the Algonquins are attacked, it will be a one-sided battle. The IndigenousPeople vow to protect our land and jurisdiction. The world will see howvicious and corrupt the corporate regime of Canada is. We have no physicalweapons. Our only weapon is the truth and doing what is right.The Algonquins have already warned the colonial authorities and their agentsto stop trespassing on unsurrendered land, breaching the peace andthreatening violence. They point out that colonial courts represent onlytheir adversaries and their corporate interests. A neutral third party at theinternational level is the proper forum. Frontenac Ventures Corporation istrespassing. Their intent is to exploit and kill creation. When the owners ofthe land say “no”, it’s “no”! There is nothing to negotiate.A surrender of Indigenous land must be done under their own law, theconstitution of Canada (Section 132) and international law. It must be donethrough negotiation and a vote on a clear question by the majority of the people.Even Canadian law does now allow this kind of annexation without consultation,consensus and compensation. Algonquin law does not allow the land to bealienated.The company must allow an archeologist visit the site to "determine aboriginalburial sites" and other items of significance. They are even going after ourancestors to contaminate them! Living people isn’t enough for them. It’s halfswamp. They want to create uranium contamination which turns things into aradio active soup. The judge' instructs the police to arrest anyone who stands in the way, andFrontenac cannot be stopped in its right to destroy people and the environment.This is Ottawa ’s prototype for the “final solution” of the “Indian problem”elsewhere. When it’s all done, they hope nobody will know about it.The police, probably with the help of the army, under the guidance of the U.S.Military, may be standing nearby. They will attempt to bull doze everybody,fully clad in riot gear, lethal lasers and guns. Sharpshooters, like psychoticKenneth Deane who killed Dudley George at Ipperwash, will be using us astarget practice. Remember the protest at Tiananmen Square in China in 1989.One lone tiny person stood in front of those tanks and stopped the militaryfrom killing demonstrators. Nobody wants to see women and children crushedby the might of present day neo-con totalitarianism.The police have been instructed to “use their discretion”. This is the samedisease ridden blanket they used at Ipperwash to cover their butts. Aren’tthey supposed to use their discretion at all times? Who gives the final order?Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian “Little Mouselini” Fantino?How many snipers have been assigned this time? No matter what, they donot have a right to kill us to appease the corporations who run Canada . Thisis the longtime strategy of a violent and brutal society built upon the memoriesof the blood that was shed by our ancestors for the last 500 years. All becausewe are protecting the ecosystem and our lives! Don’t they know that our jobis to protect the earth?The OPP infiltrated into the chieftainship of the Algonquins to show otherIndigenous People how far they will go to take away our lands and rights.Algonquin Chief Randy Cota, an OPP officer, will make sure the tanks cancome in. He will open the gates for them.We have a suggestion on how the OPP and all colonial corporate governmentsand their agencies can relieve themselves of their pent up urges to steal anddestroy everything in sight. They can start today and prepare for the globalsynchronized “Orgasm for Peace” that is taking place on Winter Solstice Day,Saturday, December 22nd, 2007. This is when everybody comes together tochange the energy field of the Earth through their input. It won’t work if youdon’t close your eyes. Make it easy on yourself and don’t resist, guys.[coastalpost.com].Indigenous People, supporters, do not fall for traps. The OPP will have someoneas an “agent provocateur” just like the Surete du Quebec did at Montibello.Watch out for die hard trademarks like shiny ears.This is part of an attempt at martial law for all of Turtle Island . Let us make surethat the OPP or anyone does not provoke a violent confrontation. They need areason to impose “a police state”. In our experience with these kinds of sieges,the police will stop communication, food and freedom of movement. Thecorporate media will mislead the public. The “attack will not be televised”.Only the retaliation that is staged for the public to be turned against us.Cameras and video tapes need to be there with extra batteries and chargers.Also international observers need to be inside to be the eyes and ears of theworld with an outlet for their reports.Supporters are asked to join us as soon as possible. The Ardoch and ShabotLake Algonquins will remain peaceful. Police road blocks are usually set uparound a perimeter of anywhere from six to 10 miles or closer. Needed areedical supplies, fresh water, food, tents, camping equipment, gas for thegenerators, vehicles, boats and computers. Media should be inside and outside.This has been in the works for sometime. There has been much traffic duringthe night and day which is unusual. On Sunday police were parked up theredoing radar which is a first. Canada and Ontario should keep their invading foreign forces off Algonquin land. It is not a policing issue. It’s an international issue.The unarmed and peaceful Algonquins and their supporters have been at thebarricade two months. They have held strong and continue to do so.Nia:wen,Kahentinetha HornStay tuned!http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
Mohawks: Canada sets fire to kindling at Sharbot Lake
OPP & COURT SET FIRE TO KINDLING
AT SHARBOT LAKE - WED. AUG. 29
Mohawk Nation News
Aug. 29, 2007. The June 29th attempt to provoke
indigenous violence failed. This hasn’t stopped the existing
regime of stale dated colonial buffoons from trying to set a
match to kindling. The only trouble is we ain’t kindling. We’re
rock solid. They have the guns and pepper spray which they
use to maintain their power. We’re the ones standing on the
rock of nation-to-nation relations and mutual respect. This
knot on their brain gives them a distorted reflection of themselves
and their delusions.
On Monday August 27th Judge Gordon Thomson ignored his
duty to be impartial. How could he. He sits on the other side
of the table. Acting as a puppet of Frontenac Ventures and their
corporate and government backers, he forgot that there is no
evidence that the Algonquins ever relinquished their land and
jurisdiction. In full colonial form, he corralled the OPP to serve
the short sighted greed of his masters. He issued the order to
remove the Algonquins from their land. They have been protesting
the incursions of Frontenac Ventures and their plot to mine uranium
on their land.
Chief Randy Cota has been “reassigned” to duty as an OPP
officer in Orillia. His “superiors” ordered him to stay away from
and not communicate with the protest camp site and his people
“for his own good”. OPP officer McPhearson said, "It wouldn't
be fair to subject him to something. We have to help Randy to
maneuver between both his positions”. Why?
This may be an astute move. The legality of being an OPP officer
and a chief is questionable. It’s a conflict between the two worlds.
Just like Canadians no longer allow judges to be Members of
Parliament.
Let’s get this straight. No traditional indigenous person would kill
another, even if they are dressed like the enemy. This confused
the British and French when they were fighting each other and
trying to get us to join their respective factions a couple of
centuries ago.
With Randy we would do what President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela
did in 2002. The oligarchy had conducted a coup, deposed his
government and instated martial law. The people put Chavez back
in. He gave his CIA backed detractors amnesty and told them they
are free as long as they follow the people’s law. The OPP are trying
to justify what they are going to do by making plans behind our backs.
They are not inviting us to talk with them about our disagreement about
the status of our land and their rights on it. They are instead getting out
their guns and flak jackets, polishing their pepper spray cans, and
running to their judges to get stamps of approval for their illegal actions.
The Algonquins are an independent nation, that never agreed to become
part of Canada. It is well established in international law that a large
nation cannot take over a small nation without the fully informed consent
of its people. If Canada thinks it has rights to sell to greedy carpet
baggers like Frontenac Ventures, than it better get out their documentation
to prove it. We all know they ain’t got nothing except their guns and bluff.
We are always open to meeting people on an equal human-to-human
basis. We know that everyone has a voice. Everyone’s circumstances
need to be considered.
There were quite a few settlers at the protest site yesterday. Most of
them work in Ottawa. Many of them have big homes on Algonquin land.
They appreciate the natural character of the land which the Algonquins
wish to maintain.
We share concerns about the environment and human decency. The
more they mix with us, the more they learn. No, we’re not gangsters. A
group of women met with Ardoch Chief Harold Perry. From the beginning
they wanted to act in solidarity and set up a tent city along the road allowance.
They want the public to know that it is not just Algonquins or adolescent
protestors who oppose the uranium mine. Solid Canadian citizens want a
clean healthy life too. Harold, Bob Lovelace and others agreed.
Settlers feared getting arrested. Many are becoming less afraid. They see
the bigger picture that supporting us is part of supporting their democratic
rights. This is the last frontier for them. They don’t have to lie down and let
unprincipled corporate greed walk all over them.
Mainstream Canadians remain naïve about the scams that have become
standard practice in some departments of their government. We know
that the next move by the OPP and their masters or whoever pulls the
strings will try to put a wedge between them and us. They want the public
to think that we are the rabble rousers. They will dress up as basic red
necks, shit disturbers like skinheads, Brown Shirts and KKK. They will
hire expensive spin doctors to manage the media to fool the Canadian
public and turn them against us. Anything, to avoid an honest straight
forward simple nation to nation discussion.
The OPP “Major Events Liaison Team” MELT arrived. It sounds like they
are trying to set up a training exercise or another Chernobyl. A major
concern was whether Frontenac Ventures would bring in their own "police"
or “mercenaries” if the OPP “fail” to carry out the “evacuation” of the protesters.
The Algonquins reminded them they are not leaving the land of their ancestors
and of their coming generations!
Frontenac is nothing but a “for-profit” paper created corporation that is being
given a beating heart by phony permits and licenses from those other paper made
corporations - Ontario and Canada. These man-made monsters are propped
up by "government" agencies and armed forced. The judge is lying when he pretends
that Frontenac has a life and then pits this rigged organization against living breathing
human beings who have been on our land since time immemorial. The judge is in
fact setting up a massive gang rape of the current and future generations of our people,
of our land and even of his own "Canadian" people.
These fraud has to be recognized. these fiends have to be disarmed of their
arms and legs - the financial, military and judicial apparatus
which are being used in an attempt to gobble us up. We just have to follow our original
instructions to deal with these monstrously artificial constructs that have been concocted
out of paper.
The meeting took place in the gazebo outside the gate with all present standing
around in a circle and certain ones sitting in the inner circle. It was not private
or secret like the meetings that we know must be going on among various
colonial government agencies.
When the 2 OPP arrived to be part of a peace meeting, Inspector McPhearson
was told to get rid of his gun. Nobody else came armed except with our will to
deal fairly. He went in a huff and made a great show of locking his gun belt in
the trunk of his car. As every mother knows, kids sometime fuss about behaving
themselves in mixed company. By the way, the front wheel of his cruiser was
sticking out onto the road ready to be accidentally hit by a passerby. He not
only flunked “Negotiations 101” and PVO. He did not learn how to park.
The meeting opened with a smudge, pipe smoking and talking feather. Chief
Doreen, Chief Paula Sherman, Lily, Mitchell, Harold, Don, Bob, a Native woman
who is a lawyer offering pro bono, OPP McPhearson and OPP Mike Forrester
took part. The Algonquin warriors stood in the outer circle and spoke up whenever
they had something to say.
From the beginning, McPhearson said, “We will tell you ahead of time of any
actions we may take or any change in plan”. Friends and supporters worldwide,
this makes it obvious that he and his managers intend to continue violating our
rights by making decisions without consulting us. What he really meant was “We
reserve the right to surprise attack you any time of the day or night like we did at
Six Nations, but this time we will win. You won't know what hit you and we reserve
the right to change the plan at any time”. In other words, he is totally ignorant of both
international law and the support that has been given to this standard of consultation
by the Supreme Court of Canada over the last 20 years.
The sheriff was to deliver the revised injunction as early as Tuesday afternoon,
August 28th. OPP Mike Forrester told us, “I give you my word, when anything
changes, I’ll make sure a message gets to you”. Yeah! Sure, we’ve heard seen
that before. Their message is usually in the form of tear gas, pepper spray and
police invasions. In OPP sneak-speak, this means, “My word means nothing.
You can count on it. We intend to use you for target practice, just like we did with
Dudley George”. This time they don’t want to get caught. Their game has not
changed. Their still playing “cowboys and injuns” and “might makes right”
consultation.
He said, “We are bound by the law but the judge gave us discretionary options”.
Isn’t this a contradiction? This means, “We can do what we want. We’ll be nice
if you obey our commands. Or we can blast you from here to kingdom come”.
Do they think we don’t know a threat when we see one?
He said, “We will do whatever it takes to maintain the peace
because we are peacekeepers”!! [So what’s with the guns, tasers, pepper
spray and clubs to beat us with?] He kept referring to the OPP as “my "organization"!
It almost sounded like “my orgasm. He is power drunk and has no understanding of
the original history of the police in his culture. They were meant to protect people
from rowdies, not to become rowdies themselves. The OPP neither consults nor
serves the public. They don’t understand that we are an egalitarian society where
everyone has a voice in the consensual decision making process.
They take orders from a private disreputable greedy company that is destroying the
environment and manufacturing weapons and dangerous material which is strictly
illegal according to international law. Why should any state protect arms
manufacturers and environmental terrorists?
He said he wants to see “a resolution that everyone can live with”. This means he
wants us to live under the heel of his boot. They should get their butts out of here
where it doesn’t belong.
They can stop breaking Algonquin law, Canadian law and international law. We
can live with that! He told us, “We're not going to sneak in, we're not coming in
masses”. This means, “We learned the lessons of Montibello. We are going to
send in a few guys who will be wearing cheap sneakers, not standard issue police
boots. They always say the opposite of what they are going to do. The OPP will
sneak in and will come in masses.
Chief Doreen Davis hit him with questions that shook McPhearson. He admitted
he hadn't read the Order that he claimed to be following. He is ready to follow his
own discretion. [Can this guy read?]. “I need a lawyer to interpret it for me” [so I’ll
know what I’m doing]. He got smaller and smaller as more question were pelted at
him.
Chief Doreen asked him about the settlers being arrested outside of the gates.
McPhearson said, “All I know is there's a big difference which side of the fence
you're on”. He admitted to being biased.
Chief Doreen wanted to know if anyone inside could go out for medical
appointments. He said, “I don’t know”. This is a serious concern for the people
there. Many are sick from the environmental contamination by previous uranium
mining and other illegal ventures.
As Chief Doreen pointed out, nothing has changed since Caledonia and
Ipperwash. The colonizers haven’t learned a thing. They are bent on imposing
their paradigms on us. He was speechless. For all his confusion McPhearson
probably wants to be a good guy. Too bad his “Machiavellian” handlers are too
chicken to show their faces to us.
The Algonquins reminded them that Canada as the other party to the dispute
cannot be the judge, jury and executioner. It violates the basic principle of
nation to nation relations and the rule of law as defined and agreed too by the
nations of the world. Any dispute must be done before a neutral third party that
has no vested interest in the outcome.
One man tried to nail McPhearson, “How much time will you give us before you
invade and attack? 20 minutes?”
McPhearson eloquently remarked, "We appreciate the unique dynamic of this
situation. But there has to be some kind of end to this, some kind of resolution”.
There is! Stop your lawlessness. Stop being the muscle for fictional characters
like Frontenac Ventures Corporation. Is he suggesting that they are all going to
go back to where they came from? Henh! We bet they want to go back to
ignoring us like they did during the theft of our land they called “settlement”.
The situation is critical. This is an international crisis. Please call Ontario
Premier McGuinty's office at 416-325-1941 and Prime Minister Stephen Harper
at pm@pm.gc.ca demanding they pull his cops off at the Robertsville Mine site on
Algonquin territory near Sharbot Lake. Stop this before it becomes “militarized”.
He ignores the Ardoch Algonquin chiefs who have repeatedly asked for a meeting.
Stay tuned for more. Contact: paulasherman@trentu.ca; chiefdoreen@aol.com; john@plentycanada.com; rcota@sympatico.ca
Kahentinetha Horn & Katenies
MNN Mohawk Nation News
AT SHARBOT LAKE - WED. AUG. 29
Mohawk Nation News
Aug. 29, 2007. The June 29th attempt to provoke
indigenous violence failed. This hasn’t stopped the existing
regime of stale dated colonial buffoons from trying to set a
match to kindling. The only trouble is we ain’t kindling. We’re
rock solid. They have the guns and pepper spray which they
use to maintain their power. We’re the ones standing on the
rock of nation-to-nation relations and mutual respect. This
knot on their brain gives them a distorted reflection of themselves
and their delusions.
On Monday August 27th Judge Gordon Thomson ignored his
duty to be impartial. How could he. He sits on the other side
of the table. Acting as a puppet of Frontenac Ventures and their
corporate and government backers, he forgot that there is no
evidence that the Algonquins ever relinquished their land and
jurisdiction. In full colonial form, he corralled the OPP to serve
the short sighted greed of his masters. He issued the order to
remove the Algonquins from their land. They have been protesting
the incursions of Frontenac Ventures and their plot to mine uranium
on their land.
Chief Randy Cota has been “reassigned” to duty as an OPP
officer in Orillia. His “superiors” ordered him to stay away from
and not communicate with the protest camp site and his people
“for his own good”. OPP officer McPhearson said, "It wouldn't
be fair to subject him to something. We have to help Randy to
maneuver between both his positions”. Why?
This may be an astute move. The legality of being an OPP officer
and a chief is questionable. It’s a conflict between the two worlds.
Just like Canadians no longer allow judges to be Members of
Parliament.
Let’s get this straight. No traditional indigenous person would kill
another, even if they are dressed like the enemy. This confused
the British and French when they were fighting each other and
trying to get us to join their respective factions a couple of
centuries ago.
With Randy we would do what President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela
did in 2002. The oligarchy had conducted a coup, deposed his
government and instated martial law. The people put Chavez back
in. He gave his CIA backed detractors amnesty and told them they
are free as long as they follow the people’s law. The OPP are trying
to justify what they are going to do by making plans behind our backs.
They are not inviting us to talk with them about our disagreement about
the status of our land and their rights on it. They are instead getting out
their guns and flak jackets, polishing their pepper spray cans, and
running to their judges to get stamps of approval for their illegal actions.
The Algonquins are an independent nation, that never agreed to become
part of Canada. It is well established in international law that a large
nation cannot take over a small nation without the fully informed consent
of its people. If Canada thinks it has rights to sell to greedy carpet
baggers like Frontenac Ventures, than it better get out their documentation
to prove it. We all know they ain’t got nothing except their guns and bluff.
We are always open to meeting people on an equal human-to-human
basis. We know that everyone has a voice. Everyone’s circumstances
need to be considered.
There were quite a few settlers at the protest site yesterday. Most of
them work in Ottawa. Many of them have big homes on Algonquin land.
They appreciate the natural character of the land which the Algonquins
wish to maintain.
We share concerns about the environment and human decency. The
more they mix with us, the more they learn. No, we’re not gangsters. A
group of women met with Ardoch Chief Harold Perry. From the beginning
they wanted to act in solidarity and set up a tent city along the road allowance.
They want the public to know that it is not just Algonquins or adolescent
protestors who oppose the uranium mine. Solid Canadian citizens want a
clean healthy life too. Harold, Bob Lovelace and others agreed.
Settlers feared getting arrested. Many are becoming less afraid. They see
the bigger picture that supporting us is part of supporting their democratic
rights. This is the last frontier for them. They don’t have to lie down and let
unprincipled corporate greed walk all over them.
Mainstream Canadians remain naïve about the scams that have become
standard practice in some departments of their government. We know
that the next move by the OPP and their masters or whoever pulls the
strings will try to put a wedge between them and us. They want the public
to think that we are the rabble rousers. They will dress up as basic red
necks, shit disturbers like skinheads, Brown Shirts and KKK. They will
hire expensive spin doctors to manage the media to fool the Canadian
public and turn them against us. Anything, to avoid an honest straight
forward simple nation to nation discussion.
The OPP “Major Events Liaison Team” MELT arrived. It sounds like they
are trying to set up a training exercise or another Chernobyl. A major
concern was whether Frontenac Ventures would bring in their own "police"
or “mercenaries” if the OPP “fail” to carry out the “evacuation” of the protesters.
The Algonquins reminded them they are not leaving the land of their ancestors
and of their coming generations!
Frontenac is nothing but a “for-profit” paper created corporation that is being
given a beating heart by phony permits and licenses from those other paper made
corporations - Ontario and Canada. These man-made monsters are propped
up by "government" agencies and armed forced. The judge is lying when he pretends
that Frontenac has a life and then pits this rigged organization against living breathing
human beings who have been on our land since time immemorial. The judge is in
fact setting up a massive gang rape of the current and future generations of our people,
of our land and even of his own "Canadian" people.
These fraud has to be recognized. these fiends have to be disarmed of their
arms and legs - the financial, military and judicial apparatus
which are being used in an attempt to gobble us up. We just have to follow our original
instructions to deal with these monstrously artificial constructs that have been concocted
out of paper.
The meeting took place in the gazebo outside the gate with all present standing
around in a circle and certain ones sitting in the inner circle. It was not private
or secret like the meetings that we know must be going on among various
colonial government agencies.
When the 2 OPP arrived to be part of a peace meeting, Inspector McPhearson
was told to get rid of his gun. Nobody else came armed except with our will to
deal fairly. He went in a huff and made a great show of locking his gun belt in
the trunk of his car. As every mother knows, kids sometime fuss about behaving
themselves in mixed company. By the way, the front wheel of his cruiser was
sticking out onto the road ready to be accidentally hit by a passerby. He not
only flunked “Negotiations 101” and PVO. He did not learn how to park.
The meeting opened with a smudge, pipe smoking and talking feather. Chief
Doreen, Chief Paula Sherman, Lily, Mitchell, Harold, Don, Bob, a Native woman
who is a lawyer offering pro bono, OPP McPhearson and OPP Mike Forrester
took part. The Algonquin warriors stood in the outer circle and spoke up whenever
they had something to say.
From the beginning, McPhearson said, “We will tell you ahead of time of any
actions we may take or any change in plan”. Friends and supporters worldwide,
this makes it obvious that he and his managers intend to continue violating our
rights by making decisions without consulting us. What he really meant was “We
reserve the right to surprise attack you any time of the day or night like we did at
Six Nations, but this time we will win. You won't know what hit you and we reserve
the right to change the plan at any time”. In other words, he is totally ignorant of both
international law and the support that has been given to this standard of consultation
by the Supreme Court of Canada over the last 20 years.
The sheriff was to deliver the revised injunction as early as Tuesday afternoon,
August 28th. OPP Mike Forrester told us, “I give you my word, when anything
changes, I’ll make sure a message gets to you”. Yeah! Sure, we’ve heard seen
that before. Their message is usually in the form of tear gas, pepper spray and
police invasions. In OPP sneak-speak, this means, “My word means nothing.
You can count on it. We intend to use you for target practice, just like we did with
Dudley George”. This time they don’t want to get caught. Their game has not
changed. Their still playing “cowboys and injuns” and “might makes right”
consultation.
He said, “We are bound by the law but the judge gave us discretionary options”.
Isn’t this a contradiction? This means, “We can do what we want. We’ll be nice
if you obey our commands. Or we can blast you from here to kingdom come”.
Do they think we don’t know a threat when we see one?
He said, “We will do whatever it takes to maintain the peace
because we are peacekeepers”!! [So what’s with the guns, tasers, pepper
spray and clubs to beat us with?] He kept referring to the OPP as “my "organization"!
It almost sounded like “my orgasm. He is power drunk and has no understanding of
the original history of the police in his culture. They were meant to protect people
from rowdies, not to become rowdies themselves. The OPP neither consults nor
serves the public. They don’t understand that we are an egalitarian society where
everyone has a voice in the consensual decision making process.
They take orders from a private disreputable greedy company that is destroying the
environment and manufacturing weapons and dangerous material which is strictly
illegal according to international law. Why should any state protect arms
manufacturers and environmental terrorists?
He said he wants to see “a resolution that everyone can live with”. This means he
wants us to live under the heel of his boot. They should get their butts out of here
where it doesn’t belong.
They can stop breaking Algonquin law, Canadian law and international law. We
can live with that! He told us, “We're not going to sneak in, we're not coming in
masses”. This means, “We learned the lessons of Montibello. We are going to
send in a few guys who will be wearing cheap sneakers, not standard issue police
boots. They always say the opposite of what they are going to do. The OPP will
sneak in and will come in masses.
Chief Doreen Davis hit him with questions that shook McPhearson. He admitted
he hadn't read the Order that he claimed to be following. He is ready to follow his
own discretion. [Can this guy read?]. “I need a lawyer to interpret it for me” [so I’ll
know what I’m doing]. He got smaller and smaller as more question were pelted at
him.
Chief Doreen asked him about the settlers being arrested outside of the gates.
McPhearson said, “All I know is there's a big difference which side of the fence
you're on”. He admitted to being biased.
Chief Doreen wanted to know if anyone inside could go out for medical
appointments. He said, “I don’t know”. This is a serious concern for the people
there. Many are sick from the environmental contamination by previous uranium
mining and other illegal ventures.
As Chief Doreen pointed out, nothing has changed since Caledonia and
Ipperwash. The colonizers haven’t learned a thing. They are bent on imposing
their paradigms on us. He was speechless. For all his confusion McPhearson
probably wants to be a good guy. Too bad his “Machiavellian” handlers are too
chicken to show their faces to us.
The Algonquins reminded them that Canada as the other party to the dispute
cannot be the judge, jury and executioner. It violates the basic principle of
nation to nation relations and the rule of law as defined and agreed too by the
nations of the world. Any dispute must be done before a neutral third party that
has no vested interest in the outcome.
One man tried to nail McPhearson, “How much time will you give us before you
invade and attack? 20 minutes?”
McPhearson eloquently remarked, "We appreciate the unique dynamic of this
situation. But there has to be some kind of end to this, some kind of resolution”.
There is! Stop your lawlessness. Stop being the muscle for fictional characters
like Frontenac Ventures Corporation. Is he suggesting that they are all going to
go back to where they came from? Henh! We bet they want to go back to
ignoring us like they did during the theft of our land they called “settlement”.
The situation is critical. This is an international crisis. Please call Ontario
Premier McGuinty's office at 416-325-1941 and Prime Minister Stephen Harper
at pm@pm.gc.ca demanding they pull his cops off at the Robertsville Mine site on
Algonquin territory near Sharbot Lake. Stop this before it becomes “militarized”.
He ignores the Ardoch Algonquin chiefs who have repeatedly asked for a meeting.
Stay tuned for more. Contact: paulasherman@trentu.ca; chiefdoreen@aol.com; john@plentycanada.com; rcota@sympatico.ca
Kahentinetha Horn & Katenies
MNN Mohawk Nation News
Zapatistas arise for North American Summit
Zapatistas arise for North American Summit
By Brenda Norrell, Posted on Wed Aug 29th, 2007 at 12:47:39 PM EST
By Brenda Norrell
Special to Narco News
RANCHO EL PENASCO, Sonora, Mexico – Indigenous Peoples from Canada, the United States and Northern Mexico are asked to bring their concerns and issues to the Zapatistas’ North American Summit, Oct. 8 – 9, 2007.
Zapatistas extend a warm welcome to Indigenous Peoples, delegates and commissions. Non-Indian supporters are asked to serve as volunteer workers at the summit.
O’odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia explained the reasons for the summit, which is hosted by the O’odham in Mexico.
“This meeting is an opportunity for Indian tribes to learn why the Zapatistas rose up, and learn what has happened since that time to bring about the unity of the people,” Garcia said.
Garcia said the Zapatista movement is well-known in southern Mexico, but Indigenous in the north are still learning about the movement.
Still, the racism and bigotry towards Indigenous Peoples knows no boundaries, he said.
“We need to learn to survive in this modern world, as society progresses. Indigenous are affected by these changes in many ways.
“This is why we’re asking non-Indigenous to have courtesy and allow Indigenous this time to come together and voice opinions and concerns.”
Maria Garcia, organizing food for the Zapatistas' North American Summit, said hard-working kitchen helpers are needed for food preparation and cleaning duties. Helpers should arrive at the site on Sunday evening, Oct. 7, for assignments.
Also, large quantities of coffee, pinto beans, rice, cooking oil, heavy paper plates, heavy paper cups for coffee and napkins are needed. (Please contact Maria or Jose Garcia at oodhamj@yahoo.com or La Indita Restaurant in Tucson, to provide supplies before the conference.)
Lt. Gov. Garcia said all attendees must register, either by way of pre-registration or at the site. Media should bring press credentials for registration.
Indigenous organizations may also submit written statements of their concerns and issues to the summit.
The topics of discussion were established by the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit Commission (Comision Organizadora del Encuentro de Pueblos Indigenas de Americas.) The organizing commission includes the traditional authorities of Vicam Pueblo, National Indigenous Congress of Mexico and the Sixth Commission of the EZLN.
The primary topic will be the war of capitalist conquest and its effect on Indigenous Peoples. The second topic is the resistance of Indigenous Peoples to this war of conquest in defense of Mother Earth and Indigenous territories and cultures. The third topic will be a discussion of why Indigenous Peoples are struggling.
Indian tribes’ delegates, representatives or commissions are invited to bring the problems of their regions and discuss these topics at the regional and international summits.
Other attendees will be observers, without a voice or role in the decision-making process at the Indigenous summits.
The North American Continental Summit, Oct. 8 – 9, is one of four regional conferences. There are also Indigenous summits being held in Oaxaca, Oct. 4 --5, Atlapulco in central Mexico, Oct. 6 –7 and Michaocan, Oct. 6 – 7, 2007.
The Intercontinental Indigenous Summit/Encuentro de Pueblos Indígenas de América, Oct. 11 – 14, follows in Vicam Pueblo near Obregon. Attendees must register.
At the North American Summit in Rancho el Penasco, camping, with water on site, is available, beginning Sunday, Oct. 7 through the conclusion of the summit on Oct. 9. For those with cars, motels are within two miles. Rancho el Penasco eco-tourism and biodiversity ranch, is located south of Magdalena on the main highway to Hermosillo. It is less than a two-hour drive from the Nogales, Ariz., border.
Brenda Norrell
brendanorrell@gmail.com
O’odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia
oodhamj@yahoo.com
By Brenda Norrell, Posted on Wed Aug 29th, 2007 at 12:47:39 PM EST
By Brenda Norrell
Special to Narco News
RANCHO EL PENASCO, Sonora, Mexico – Indigenous Peoples from Canada, the United States and Northern Mexico are asked to bring their concerns and issues to the Zapatistas’ North American Summit, Oct. 8 – 9, 2007.
Zapatistas extend a warm welcome to Indigenous Peoples, delegates and commissions. Non-Indian supporters are asked to serve as volunteer workers at the summit.
O’odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia explained the reasons for the summit, which is hosted by the O’odham in Mexico.
“This meeting is an opportunity for Indian tribes to learn why the Zapatistas rose up, and learn what has happened since that time to bring about the unity of the people,” Garcia said.
Garcia said the Zapatista movement is well-known in southern Mexico, but Indigenous in the north are still learning about the movement.
Still, the racism and bigotry towards Indigenous Peoples knows no boundaries, he said.
“We need to learn to survive in this modern world, as society progresses. Indigenous are affected by these changes in many ways.
“This is why we’re asking non-Indigenous to have courtesy and allow Indigenous this time to come together and voice opinions and concerns.”
Maria Garcia, organizing food for the Zapatistas' North American Summit, said hard-working kitchen helpers are needed for food preparation and cleaning duties. Helpers should arrive at the site on Sunday evening, Oct. 7, for assignments.
Also, large quantities of coffee, pinto beans, rice, cooking oil, heavy paper plates, heavy paper cups for coffee and napkins are needed. (Please contact Maria or Jose Garcia at oodhamj@yahoo.com or La Indita Restaurant in Tucson, to provide supplies before the conference.)
Lt. Gov. Garcia said all attendees must register, either by way of pre-registration or at the site. Media should bring press credentials for registration.
Indigenous organizations may also submit written statements of their concerns and issues to the summit.
The topics of discussion were established by the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit Commission (Comision Organizadora del Encuentro de Pueblos Indigenas de Americas.) The organizing commission includes the traditional authorities of Vicam Pueblo, National Indigenous Congress of Mexico and the Sixth Commission of the EZLN.
The primary topic will be the war of capitalist conquest and its effect on Indigenous Peoples. The second topic is the resistance of Indigenous Peoples to this war of conquest in defense of Mother Earth and Indigenous territories and cultures. The third topic will be a discussion of why Indigenous Peoples are struggling.
Indian tribes’ delegates, representatives or commissions are invited to bring the problems of their regions and discuss these topics at the regional and international summits.
Other attendees will be observers, without a voice or role in the decision-making process at the Indigenous summits.
The North American Continental Summit, Oct. 8 – 9, is one of four regional conferences. There are also Indigenous summits being held in Oaxaca, Oct. 4 --5, Atlapulco in central Mexico, Oct. 6 –7 and Michaocan, Oct. 6 – 7, 2007.
The Intercontinental Indigenous Summit/Encuentro de Pueblos Indígenas de América, Oct. 11 – 14, follows in Vicam Pueblo near Obregon. Attendees must register.
At the North American Summit in Rancho el Penasco, camping, with water on site, is available, beginning Sunday, Oct. 7 through the conclusion of the summit on Oct. 9. For those with cars, motels are within two miles. Rancho el Penasco eco-tourism and biodiversity ranch, is located south of Magdalena on the main highway to Hermosillo. It is less than a two-hour drive from the Nogales, Ariz., border.
Brenda Norrell
brendanorrell@gmail.com
O’odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia
oodhamj@yahoo.com
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
ACLU announces settlement over Hutto child migrant prison
Settlement Announced in Lawsuit Challenging Conditions at Immigrant Detention center in TXby ACLU Press Relese (repost) Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007 at 8:06 AM
media@aclu.org
ACLU Urges Congress to End Policy of Detaining Immigrant Children
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: media@aclu.org
AUSTIN, TX -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced a landmark settlement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that greatly improves conditions for immigrant children and their families inside the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas. Dozens of children were released from the facility with their families as a result of the litigation. The settlement is expected to be approved shortly by Judge Sam Sparks of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. "This is a huge victory not only for the children and families that have been released from Hutto, but for every detainee held at the facility, now or in the future," said Vanita Gupta, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "Though we continue to believe that Hutto is an inappropriate place to house children,conditions have drastically improved in areas like education, recreation, medical care, and privacy." The settlement is the result of extensive litigation and mediation in consolidated lawsuits filed earlier this year against Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and six officials from ICE on behalf of 26 immigrant children. The children are between the ages of 1 and 17, and were detained at Hutto with their parents who, in almost all cases, were awaiting determinations on their asylum claims.The ACLU, the ACLU of Texas, the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic, and the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP brought the lawsuits. Since the original lawsuits were filed in March 2007, all of the 26 children represented by the ACLU and co-counsel have been released.The final six children were released days before the settlement was finalized, and are now living with family members who are U.S. citizens and/or legal permanent residents while pursuing their asylum claims. For the children, the release day was very emotional. Andrea Restrepo, a 12-year-old child from Colombia, had been held in Hutto in a small cell for nearly a year with her mother and 9-year-old sister. "I feel much better, I feel tranquil, I can do things now I couldn't do there," said Restrepo. "I am trying to forget everything about Hutto. I feel free. It was a nightmare." Conditions at Hutto have gradually and significantly improved as a result of the groundbreaking litigation. Children are no longer required to wear prison uniforms and are allowed much more time outdoors. Educational programming has expanded and guards have been instructed not to discipline children by threatening to separate them from their parents. "The ACLU has long been concerned with poor conditions in immigration detention centers, but the inhumane conditions in which the children at Hutto lived before this litigation demanded our immediate attention," said Gouri Bhat, an attorney with the ACLU's National Prison Project."This agreement with ICE will make permanent important changes that already have been made and will ensure additional improvements in the future." "The litigation has achieved enormous results," said Sean R. D. Gorman, a partner with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP, which provided pro bono representation to the children."Instead of punishing asylum seekers by treating them like criminals, the settlement requires ICE to treat children more like children — with the care and compassion that exemplify American values." Soon after the litigation commenced, ICE instituted a policy of detaining at Hutto only families placed in expedited removal proceedings and began to issue bonds for asylum seekers who passed their credible fear interviews. "Imprisoning families who have fled their home countries under fear of persecution from their own governments, and detaining them in jail-like conditions, was an indescribable trauma for many of the children we represented," said Barbara Hines, Director of the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic. "We are hopeful that by limiting the population at Hutto to families in expedited removal except in exigent circumstances, and adopting more meaningful release procedures, that the length of stay for children will be significantly reduced." Additional improvements ICE will be required to make as a result of the settlement include allowing children over the age of 12 to move freely about the facility; providing a full-time, on-site pediatrician; eliminating the count system so that families are not forced to stay in their cells 12 hours a day; installing privacy curtains around toilets; offering field trip opportunities to children; supplying more toys and age-and language-appropriate books; and improving the nutritional value of food. ICE must also allow regular legal orientation presentations by local immigrants' rights organizations; allow family and friends to visit Hutto detainees seven days a week; and allow children to keep paper and pens in their rooms. ICE's compliance with each of these reforms, as well as other conditions reforms, will be subject to external oversight to ensure their permanence. Despite the tremendous improvements at Hutto, the facility remains a former medium security prison managed by the Corrections Corporation of America, a for-profit adult corrections company. In recent years, Congress has repeatedly directed DHS to keep immigrant families together, either by releasing them or using alternatives to detention. Where detention is necessary, Congress has said immigrant families should be housed in non-penal, homelike environments. The ACLU remains adamant that detaining immigrant children at Hutto is inappropriate, and calls on Congress to compel DHS to find humane alternatives for managing families whose immigration status is in limbo. "We are thrilled at what we were able to accomplish through litigation and mediation," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas. "But the fact remains that our government should not be locking up innocent children — period. That is not what America is about. It is time for Congress to intervene and end the policy of family detention." The Hutto lawsuits were filed by Gupta and Elora Mukherjee of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program; Bhat and Tom Jawetz of the ACLU's National Prison Project; Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project; Graybill of the ACLU Foundation of Texas; Hines of the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic; and Gorman, Stephen J. Lable and Carol A. Lafond of the law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. More information about Hutto and the ACLU's litigation is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/hutto
www.aclu.org/hutto
media@aclu.org
ACLU Urges Congress to End Policy of Detaining Immigrant Children
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: media@aclu.org
AUSTIN, TX -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced a landmark settlement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that greatly improves conditions for immigrant children and their families inside the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas. Dozens of children were released from the facility with their families as a result of the litigation. The settlement is expected to be approved shortly by Judge Sam Sparks of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. "This is a huge victory not only for the children and families that have been released from Hutto, but for every detainee held at the facility, now or in the future," said Vanita Gupta, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Racial Justice Program. "Though we continue to believe that Hutto is an inappropriate place to house children,conditions have drastically improved in areas like education, recreation, medical care, and privacy." The settlement is the result of extensive litigation and mediation in consolidated lawsuits filed earlier this year against Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and six officials from ICE on behalf of 26 immigrant children. The children are between the ages of 1 and 17, and were detained at Hutto with their parents who, in almost all cases, were awaiting determinations on their asylum claims.The ACLU, the ACLU of Texas, the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic, and the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP brought the lawsuits. Since the original lawsuits were filed in March 2007, all of the 26 children represented by the ACLU and co-counsel have been released.The final six children were released days before the settlement was finalized, and are now living with family members who are U.S. citizens and/or legal permanent residents while pursuing their asylum claims. For the children, the release day was very emotional. Andrea Restrepo, a 12-year-old child from Colombia, had been held in Hutto in a small cell for nearly a year with her mother and 9-year-old sister. "I feel much better, I feel tranquil, I can do things now I couldn't do there," said Restrepo. "I am trying to forget everything about Hutto. I feel free. It was a nightmare." Conditions at Hutto have gradually and significantly improved as a result of the groundbreaking litigation. Children are no longer required to wear prison uniforms and are allowed much more time outdoors. Educational programming has expanded and guards have been instructed not to discipline children by threatening to separate them from their parents. "The ACLU has long been concerned with poor conditions in immigration detention centers, but the inhumane conditions in which the children at Hutto lived before this litigation demanded our immediate attention," said Gouri Bhat, an attorney with the ACLU's National Prison Project."This agreement with ICE will make permanent important changes that already have been made and will ensure additional improvements in the future." "The litigation has achieved enormous results," said Sean R. D. Gorman, a partner with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP, which provided pro bono representation to the children."Instead of punishing asylum seekers by treating them like criminals, the settlement requires ICE to treat children more like children — with the care and compassion that exemplify American values." Soon after the litigation commenced, ICE instituted a policy of detaining at Hutto only families placed in expedited removal proceedings and began to issue bonds for asylum seekers who passed their credible fear interviews. "Imprisoning families who have fled their home countries under fear of persecution from their own governments, and detaining them in jail-like conditions, was an indescribable trauma for many of the children we represented," said Barbara Hines, Director of the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic. "We are hopeful that by limiting the population at Hutto to families in expedited removal except in exigent circumstances, and adopting more meaningful release procedures, that the length of stay for children will be significantly reduced." Additional improvements ICE will be required to make as a result of the settlement include allowing children over the age of 12 to move freely about the facility; providing a full-time, on-site pediatrician; eliminating the count system so that families are not forced to stay in their cells 12 hours a day; installing privacy curtains around toilets; offering field trip opportunities to children; supplying more toys and age-and language-appropriate books; and improving the nutritional value of food. ICE must also allow regular legal orientation presentations by local immigrants' rights organizations; allow family and friends to visit Hutto detainees seven days a week; and allow children to keep paper and pens in their rooms. ICE's compliance with each of these reforms, as well as other conditions reforms, will be subject to external oversight to ensure their permanence. Despite the tremendous improvements at Hutto, the facility remains a former medium security prison managed by the Corrections Corporation of America, a for-profit adult corrections company. In recent years, Congress has repeatedly directed DHS to keep immigrant families together, either by releasing them or using alternatives to detention. Where detention is necessary, Congress has said immigrant families should be housed in non-penal, homelike environments. The ACLU remains adamant that detaining immigrant children at Hutto is inappropriate, and calls on Congress to compel DHS to find humane alternatives for managing families whose immigration status is in limbo. "We are thrilled at what we were able to accomplish through litigation and mediation," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director of the ACLU of Texas. "But the fact remains that our government should not be locking up innocent children — period. That is not what America is about. It is time for Congress to intervene and end the policy of family detention." The Hutto lawsuits were filed by Gupta and Elora Mukherjee of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program; Bhat and Tom Jawetz of the ACLU's National Prison Project; Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project; Graybill of the ACLU Foundation of Texas; Hines of the University of Texas School of Law Immigration Clinic; and Gorman, Stephen J. Lable and Carol A. Lafond of the law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. More information about Hutto and the ACLU's litigation is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/hutto
www.aclu.org/hutto
Texas prison for children and refugees faces trial
August 28, 2007
Facing Trial, Government Agrees to Improve Conditions at Immigrant Center
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
New York Times
HOUSTON, Aug. 27 — The federal government and lawyers for immigrant children have announced an agreement to improve living conditions at the nation’s main family detention center for illegal immigrant suspects.
The deal involves the 512-bed T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Tex., which houses about 400 asylum seekers and others suspected of being in the country illegally, about half of whom are children and teenagers.
When it opened last year, the privately run center was to be a model for a tougher federal immigration policy in which more people suspected of being illegal immigrants would be held instead of released before hearings. But the center drew protests when it was reported that immigrant children were inadequately fed, deprived of toys and confined to cells with open toilets.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the immigration clinic at the University of Texas Law School sued federal officials on behalf of 26 immigrant children and teenagers, seeking their release and improved conditions at the center.
The agreement, announced as a trial had been set to begin on Monday, requires improving education, recreation and nutrition for children, hiring a full-time pediatrician, and installing privacy curtains around toilets. It provides for inspections by a federal magistrate, Andrew W. Austin.
“This is a huge victory,” said Vanita Gupta, a lawyer with the Racial Justice Program of the A.C.L.U. “Though we continue to believe that Hutto is an inappropriate place to house children, conditions have drastically improved in areas like education, recreation, medical care and privacy.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency heralded the settlement and defended the center as safe.
The agency said in a statement that it “continues to improve Hutto, ensuring that the facility’s residents are detained in an environment appropriate for both parents and children.” It added that “residents are treated with dignity and respect.”
The agreement requires the approval of Judge Sam Sparks of Federal District Court in Austin.
Even critics have said conditions at the center have improved markedly since the lawsuit was filed in March, citing expanded outdoor recreation time and educational opportunities and the elimination of a requirement that children wear institutional uniforms.
All 26 youths involved in the suit have been released in the last several months, including six in the last few days. The six are living with family members who are American citizens or permanent legal residents.
According to a statement by the A.C.L.U., the six children responded to their release with emotion. One of them, Andrea Restrepo, a 12-year-old from Colombia, was quoted as saying: “I am trying to forget everything about Hutto. I feel free. It was a nightmare.”
Establishing the center was part of a plan to expand detention space as a way to house those rounded up in raids on workplaces and a crackdown along the borders.
It was to be part of a reversal of policy in which tens of thousands of arrested immigrants were released every year before immigration hearings, which many then did not attend. Most of the people held in the center came from Latin American countries where they could not be easily sent home. The center is intended to hold detainees for a matter of days, but some immigrants have been held for two months or more.
The immigration agency said it continued to believe in family detention as a main component to the federal “catch and remove” policy. “Keeping families together through the removal process,” the agency said, “ensures that illegal alien children remain with parents, their best caregivers.”
Facing Trial, Government Agrees to Improve Conditions at Immigrant Center
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
New York Times
HOUSTON, Aug. 27 — The federal government and lawyers for immigrant children have announced an agreement to improve living conditions at the nation’s main family detention center for illegal immigrant suspects.
The deal involves the 512-bed T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Tex., which houses about 400 asylum seekers and others suspected of being in the country illegally, about half of whom are children and teenagers.
When it opened last year, the privately run center was to be a model for a tougher federal immigration policy in which more people suspected of being illegal immigrants would be held instead of released before hearings. But the center drew protests when it was reported that immigrant children were inadequately fed, deprived of toys and confined to cells with open toilets.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the immigration clinic at the University of Texas Law School sued federal officials on behalf of 26 immigrant children and teenagers, seeking their release and improved conditions at the center.
The agreement, announced as a trial had been set to begin on Monday, requires improving education, recreation and nutrition for children, hiring a full-time pediatrician, and installing privacy curtains around toilets. It provides for inspections by a federal magistrate, Andrew W. Austin.
“This is a huge victory,” said Vanita Gupta, a lawyer with the Racial Justice Program of the A.C.L.U. “Though we continue to believe that Hutto is an inappropriate place to house children, conditions have drastically improved in areas like education, recreation, medical care and privacy.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency heralded the settlement and defended the center as safe.
The agency said in a statement that it “continues to improve Hutto, ensuring that the facility’s residents are detained in an environment appropriate for both parents and children.” It added that “residents are treated with dignity and respect.”
The agreement requires the approval of Judge Sam Sparks of Federal District Court in Austin.
Even critics have said conditions at the center have improved markedly since the lawsuit was filed in March, citing expanded outdoor recreation time and educational opportunities and the elimination of a requirement that children wear institutional uniforms.
All 26 youths involved in the suit have been released in the last several months, including six in the last few days. The six are living with family members who are American citizens or permanent legal residents.
According to a statement by the A.C.L.U., the six children responded to their release with emotion. One of them, Andrea Restrepo, a 12-year-old from Colombia, was quoted as saying: “I am trying to forget everything about Hutto. I feel free. It was a nightmare.”
Establishing the center was part of a plan to expand detention space as a way to house those rounded up in raids on workplaces and a crackdown along the borders.
It was to be part of a reversal of policy in which tens of thousands of arrested immigrants were released every year before immigration hearings, which many then did not attend. Most of the people held in the center came from Latin American countries where they could not be easily sent home. The center is intended to hold detainees for a matter of days, but some immigrants have been held for two months or more.
The immigration agency said it continued to believe in family detention as a main component to the federal “catch and remove” policy. “Keeping families together through the removal process,” the agency said, “ensures that illegal alien children remain with parents, their best caregivers.”
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Mohawks halting conquest by multinationals: Travel restrictions
Mohawk Nation News
August 20, 2007
Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Allies throughout the World we are asking you to make presentations to your governments to put them on notice that the Indigenous peoples are asserting their rights and carrying out our instructions to save Mother Earth from the devastations of the multinational corporations and their puppet governments.
In particular you should send your comments to Canada , U.S. and Mexico who are presently dividing up our lands and resources for the ruling elite.
This notice has been sent to all nations and states worldwide and has been aired on http://www.libertytreeradio.4mg.com/index.html download jet audio, open with jet audio
Posted MNN.
Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ See: "World"Haudenosaunee Rotinonsionni OnkwehÒnwe Rotiskenrakéhte Kanienkehaka Kanienke
Notice of Navigation And Travel Restriction
Aug. 17, 2007
A. With authority under Kaianerehkowa, Supreme Law of the Great Architect of Creation;
B. Rotiskenrakéhte “They who hold the Peace”, inside Kanienke, declare Navigation And Travel Restriction;
C. Restriction shall start at Twenty-three hundred hours, eighteenth day said August, Two-thousand seven until further notice, and shall apply to vessels of any nation or corporation engaging in commerce, commercial intercourse with corporate United States or Canada, from navigation or travel inside or upon navigable water, known to be Kanientarahwanoneh, said Cadaracui River, said Lac Saint-Pierre, said River Saint Laurence, said Gulf Saint Laurence and tributaries, beginning point upon the Earth at Forty-three degrees, fifty-six minutes north latitude and Seventy-six degrees, fifty-one minutes, thirty-five seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Forty-three degrees, fifty minutes, eighteen seconds north latitude and Seventy-six degrees, seventeen minutes, fifty-five seconds west longitude; thence east and north along land and course of navigable water Kanientarahwanoneh, said Saint Lawrence Seaway, to point at Forty-five degrees, fifty-three minutes, thirty-nine seconds north latitude and Fifty-nine degrees, fifty-eight minutes, twenty-one seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Forty-seven degrees, thirty-five minutes, ten seconds north latitude and Fifty-two degrees, forty-one minutes, thirty-one seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Fifty-two degrees, sixteen minutes, twenty seconds north latitude and Fifty-five degrees, thirty-five minutes west longitude.
D. Air-space within one nautical mile of domicile or abode of OnkwehÒnwe shall also be restricted from use by government or private contracted security aircraft of said United States and Canada ;
E. For centuries OnkwehÒnwe (Original People to the Land) and other aboriginal Nations upon the Earth have suffered genocide, near total destruction of our Earth, way of life and the continued war of aggression by colonial invaders under de facto Papal authority, said Holy Roman Empire . Crusading British corporations said United States, Canada, Australia, France, England and others continue this genocide in pursuit of commerce and presumed Sovereign Dominion Over The Earth;
F. In Unity with Algonquin People stop on uranium mining, by Frontenac Venture Corporation;G. In Unity with original People attacked and children taken, by British corporation of Australia ;
H. In Unity with People upon Earth against Globalization, North American Free Trade Agreement and meeting between puppet leaders of the corporations United States, Canada and Mexico at Chateau Montebello on twentieth day said August;
I. In response to corporations State Of New York , United States Bureau Of Indian Affairs and Catskill Development LLC, attempts to interfere with Ancient governmental structure of Kanienkehaka and unauthorized negotiations, to deprive of Ancestral Land ;
J. In remembrance of our past struggles and in unity with continued struggle of all original People upon the Earth at Chiapas, Oaxaca, Wayúu People, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Kanenhstaton and others against the Vatican's terrorists;
K. Rotiskenrakéhte shall exercise and maintain explicit reservation of Right, have Authority to use all force necessary, with necessary means to maintain the Peace and stop the destruction of life on Earth, by this Navigation And Travel Restriction to vessels of any nation or corporation engaging in commerce, commercial intercourse with corporate United States or Canada .L. Furthermore, OnkwehÒnwe may take prize of vessel and goods for breaking the Peace by violation of this restriction;
M. Rotiskenrakéhte, ask that the People upon the Earth, take notice of our right to Peace on Earth and unite with us to stop the destruction of Life. Rotiskenrakéhte intent is to open eyes of the people of your world, to the War of Genocide pursued against original People upon the Earth;With Authority under Kianerehkowa, so be it our Minds.
Secret plan in Canada of trinational and corporate union of Canada, Mexico and U.S.
Dear First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of America,Native Warrior: Our nations are in grave danger.
This coming August 20 - 21, 2007 the US military will be on First Nations and Canadian soil in the area of Papineauville and Montebello Quebec forbidding First Nations peoples and Canadian peoples from holding a peaceful assembly to demonstrate against a secret plan to join Canada with United States and Mexico to create a North American Union.
The US military will invade sovereign territory in Canada to enforce a 25-kilometer security perimeter around the Chateau Montebello, where President George W. Bush will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico on August 20 and 21.
The name of this secret plan is called the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) also called the North American Union (NAU) which was secretly set in motion back in March of 2005 when President George W. Bush secretly met with former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and former Mexican president Vicente Fox.
The end result of this secret plan will be to put all the land and all the peoples of North America, including the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of America, under the control of a few powerful multi-national corporations. The foreign corporations will work from behind the scenes to over-rule all American, Canadian, and Mexican legislative bodies including the legislative bodies of all the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of North America.
The goal of this secret plan is to dissolve the three sovereign nations of United States, Canada and Mexico into a North American Union by 2010. All our resources: land, water, agricultural, also health and environment issues, will be not be controlled the peoples of these three sovereign countries but by the new un-elected government of the North American Union.This un-elected government will be controlled by a few powerful multi-national corporations and will have the appearance of being officially mandated by the peoples of North America. The ultimate goal of this secret plan will be to unite the North American Union with the European Union leading to one global corporate dictatorship.
Read more:UN OBSERVER & International Report at the Haguehttp://www.unobserver.com/
August 20, 2007
Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Allies throughout the World we are asking you to make presentations to your governments to put them on notice that the Indigenous peoples are asserting their rights and carrying out our instructions to save Mother Earth from the devastations of the multinational corporations and their puppet governments.
In particular you should send your comments to Canada , U.S. and Mexico who are presently dividing up our lands and resources for the ruling elite.
This notice has been sent to all nations and states worldwide and has been aired on http://www.libertytreeradio.4mg.com/index.html download jet audio, open with jet audio
Posted MNN.
Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ See: "World"Haudenosaunee Rotinonsionni OnkwehÒnwe Rotiskenrakéhte Kanienkehaka Kanienke
Notice of Navigation And Travel Restriction
Aug. 17, 2007
A. With authority under Kaianerehkowa, Supreme Law of the Great Architect of Creation;
B. Rotiskenrakéhte “They who hold the Peace”, inside Kanienke, declare Navigation And Travel Restriction;
C. Restriction shall start at Twenty-three hundred hours, eighteenth day said August, Two-thousand seven until further notice, and shall apply to vessels of any nation or corporation engaging in commerce, commercial intercourse with corporate United States or Canada, from navigation or travel inside or upon navigable water, known to be Kanientarahwanoneh, said Cadaracui River, said Lac Saint-Pierre, said River Saint Laurence, said Gulf Saint Laurence and tributaries, beginning point upon the Earth at Forty-three degrees, fifty-six minutes north latitude and Seventy-six degrees, fifty-one minutes, thirty-five seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Forty-three degrees, fifty minutes, eighteen seconds north latitude and Seventy-six degrees, seventeen minutes, fifty-five seconds west longitude; thence east and north along land and course of navigable water Kanientarahwanoneh, said Saint Lawrence Seaway, to point at Forty-five degrees, fifty-three minutes, thirty-nine seconds north latitude and Fifty-nine degrees, fifty-eight minutes, twenty-one seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Forty-seven degrees, thirty-five minutes, ten seconds north latitude and Fifty-two degrees, forty-one minutes, thirty-one seconds west longitude; thence along rhumb line to point at Fifty-two degrees, sixteen minutes, twenty seconds north latitude and Fifty-five degrees, thirty-five minutes west longitude.
D. Air-space within one nautical mile of domicile or abode of OnkwehÒnwe shall also be restricted from use by government or private contracted security aircraft of said United States and Canada ;
E. For centuries OnkwehÒnwe (Original People to the Land) and other aboriginal Nations upon the Earth have suffered genocide, near total destruction of our Earth, way of life and the continued war of aggression by colonial invaders under de facto Papal authority, said Holy Roman Empire . Crusading British corporations said United States, Canada, Australia, France, England and others continue this genocide in pursuit of commerce and presumed Sovereign Dominion Over The Earth;
F. In Unity with Algonquin People stop on uranium mining, by Frontenac Venture Corporation;G. In Unity with original People attacked and children taken, by British corporation of Australia ;
H. In Unity with People upon Earth against Globalization, North American Free Trade Agreement and meeting between puppet leaders of the corporations United States, Canada and Mexico at Chateau Montebello on twentieth day said August;
I. In response to corporations State Of New York , United States Bureau Of Indian Affairs and Catskill Development LLC, attempts to interfere with Ancient governmental structure of Kanienkehaka and unauthorized negotiations, to deprive of Ancestral Land ;
J. In remembrance of our past struggles and in unity with continued struggle of all original People upon the Earth at Chiapas, Oaxaca, Wayúu People, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Kanenhstaton and others against the Vatican's terrorists;
K. Rotiskenrakéhte shall exercise and maintain explicit reservation of Right, have Authority to use all force necessary, with necessary means to maintain the Peace and stop the destruction of life on Earth, by this Navigation And Travel Restriction to vessels of any nation or corporation engaging in commerce, commercial intercourse with corporate United States or Canada .L. Furthermore, OnkwehÒnwe may take prize of vessel and goods for breaking the Peace by violation of this restriction;
M. Rotiskenrakéhte, ask that the People upon the Earth, take notice of our right to Peace on Earth and unite with us to stop the destruction of Life. Rotiskenrakéhte intent is to open eyes of the people of your world, to the War of Genocide pursued against original People upon the Earth;With Authority under Kianerehkowa, so be it our Minds.
Secret plan in Canada of trinational and corporate union of Canada, Mexico and U.S.
Dear First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of America,Native Warrior: Our nations are in grave danger.
This coming August 20 - 21, 2007 the US military will be on First Nations and Canadian soil in the area of Papineauville and Montebello Quebec forbidding First Nations peoples and Canadian peoples from holding a peaceful assembly to demonstrate against a secret plan to join Canada with United States and Mexico to create a North American Union.
The US military will invade sovereign territory in Canada to enforce a 25-kilometer security perimeter around the Chateau Montebello, where President George W. Bush will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico on August 20 and 21.
The name of this secret plan is called the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) also called the North American Union (NAU) which was secretly set in motion back in March of 2005 when President George W. Bush secretly met with former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and former Mexican president Vicente Fox.
The end result of this secret plan will be to put all the land and all the peoples of North America, including the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of America, under the control of a few powerful multi-national corporations. The foreign corporations will work from behind the scenes to over-rule all American, Canadian, and Mexican legislative bodies including the legislative bodies of all the First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of North America.
The goal of this secret plan is to dissolve the three sovereign nations of United States, Canada and Mexico into a North American Union by 2010. All our resources: land, water, agricultural, also health and environment issues, will be not be controlled the peoples of these three sovereign countries but by the new un-elected government of the North American Union.This un-elected government will be controlled by a few powerful multi-national corporations and will have the appearance of being officially mandated by the peoples of North America. The ultimate goal of this secret plan will be to unite the North American Union with the European Union leading to one global corporate dictatorship.
Read more:UN OBSERVER & International Report at the Haguehttp://www.unobserver.com/
Arctic is un-surrendered Turtle Island
Indigenous in defense of Arctic, as the U.S., Canada, Russia and other countries race to claim the thawing Northwest Passage
Mohawk Nation News
August 21, 2007
Originally, in January of 2006, this objection was sent out via electronic and registered mail to all states claiming sovereignty over our un-surrendered lands known as the Arctic Region/Turtle Island. This objection has been revised to include Russia and sent registered mail to the parties.Soon to be Posted: http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
News category “Women Title Holders” Attachment: Mohawk Manifesto
PUBLIC NOTICE OF OBJECTION TO ATTEMPTED USURPATION OF INDIGENOUS JURISDICTION KNOWN AS THE “ARCTIC REGION” OF TURTLE ISLAND BY THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, DENMARK, RUSSIA AND ANY OTHER NATION, CORPORATION, FOREIGN FEDERAL, STATE OR PROVINCIAL “GOVERNANCE” AGENCIES AND ALL “OUTSIDERS” AND NON-INDIGENOUS INTERESTSDATE: January 28, 2006FROM: Women Title Holders of the Kanion’ke:haka NationAccording to Wampum 44 of our law, the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Women Title Holders are the “progenitors of the soil” of Turtle Island. We are the Caretakers of the land, water and air of Turtle Island. We are notifying you and the International Forum of Nations of our constitutional jurisdiction in our land that is being violated.RE: Non-Indigenous invasion of Indigenous constitutional jurisdiction of Arctic Region of Turtle Island by Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and other outside entitiesTO: Canada; United States; Denmark; Russia; Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II; Governor General of Canada; all Provinces of Canada; President of United States; Department of Justice Canada; U.S. Department of Justice; Attorney General of Canada; U.S. Attorney General; Department of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior; Stock Exchanges Toronto, Montreal, New York, London. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Zurich; The Pentagon; U.S. Army and Navy; European Union; Department of Defense Canada; Canada Steamship Lines; others listed at end (Addresses at end of Public Notice).OBJECTION TO: The invasion of Indigenous constitutional jurisdiction by Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and their affiliates and all outside non-indigenous entities who are presently attempting to usurp the northern region of Turtle Island. Canada is fighting a turf war with Denmark over the “barren” Hans Island in the Arctic, and U.S. submarines have surfaced in the far north. Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia or any other corporations have no claim over this area which belongs to the Indigenous people of Turtle Island. We demand that you cease and desist, immediately your invasion and exploitation of Indigenous territory and its people.This turf war over the Arctic Region is a violation of our customs, practices and occupational jurisdiction. Modern international law seeks to protect small peoples from incursions by aggressive states who use military and economic force to impose their culture on others. According to both the Canadian constitution and the American constitution those states cannot simply appropriate our land, resources and territorial waters. Indigenous people never surrendered our rights. The Western Sahara case makes it very clear that a territory cannot be incorporated in another state without the informed consent of the majority of its people. This requirement has not been met.Neither, Canada, the United States, Denmark nor Russia has authority to extend colonial authority or jurisdiction over us. Any past agreements or treaties have been limited to allowing foreign settlers to live peacefully on our land.According to our agreements with Canada and the United States, any American, Canadian, Danish, Russian or other foreigner wishing to enter our territory for any reason whatsoever must deal with us through their state representative. No individual or foreign entity can invite outsiders onto our territory.The Women Title Holders have the authority to safeguard our land for the coming generations. We have always defended our right to self-determination. We continue to do this now that the right to self-determination is recognized as a universal human right.Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia never consulted us nor asked us for our consent to enter our Arctic waters and territory.This dispute between Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia over our territory, waters and resources has overlooked our rights. The colonial custom of appropriating the sources of indigenous sustenance is resulting in the genocide of many indigenous people and destroying the entire world environment for everybody. Mother Earth is already badly scarred and yet you have not modified your behavior.We demand that you to leave aside your colonial habits of the past. Move into the 21st Century in a way that respects our equal rights and common humanity.We are registering our objection to this illegal assumption of jurisdiction by Canada, United States, Denmark, and Russia and their agents. In Canada we took an action in the Supreme Court of Canada – Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:neh v. Attorney General of Canada and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario, Court File: 05-CV-030785.We brought this constitutional jurisdiction issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. See No. 05-165: 2005. In The Supreme Court of the United States In re Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:neh, Non-party, Petitioner/Movant/Appellant, The Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians, Plaintiffs, Respondents, v. The State of New York, Defendants, Respondents. Petition for Writs of Certiorari and Quo Warranto with Prohibition and Mandamus in Aid to Prevent Genocide. Rules 17.1 and 20.1.Whereas:1. Jurisdiction over our territory now called the “Arctic” and beyond, belongs to the Indigenous People of Turtle Island.2. Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia must respect that relations with us shall be conducted on a nation-to-nation basis.3. Canada and the United States never made a treaty of cession with the Indigenous People for the Arctic. Contact can only be with the constitutional Indigenous people to deal with this issue.4. The denial of a nation’s existence constitutes genocide, according to the many international covenants that Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia have pledged to uphold;Therefore:5. We demand that Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and their corporate bodies and associates immediately cease and desist their illegal assumption of jurisdiction or presence in any way, shape or form on our territory, the Arctic .6. Finally, we demand to be officially informed of how international, federal, state and provincial entities can violate international law and the rule of law by superseding our jurisdiction over territory that we never surrendered through a treaty or any means whatsoever.By Kanion’ke:haka Women Title HoldersKahentinetha, Bear Clan /s/_________________________Katenies, Bear Clan /s/ ___________________________P.O. Box 991, Kahnawake of Mohawk Territory (Quebec, Canada) J0L 1B0 kahentinetha2@yahoo.com, katenies20@yahoo.comSent to:-Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Government of Canada, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Canadahttp://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=harper.s@parl.gc.ca http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca; Bloc Quebecois, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Canada http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Duceppe.g@parl.gc.ca; Jack Layton, New Democratic Party, 279 Laurier Ave., Ottawa Canada K1P 5J9 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=layton.j@parl.gc.ca; Liberal Party of Canada, Dalton McGuinty, Premier. Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto ON M7A 1A1 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca;Attorney General of Ontario, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 1200 Vanier Parkway, Ottawa Canada K1A 0R2 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mclelland.a@parl.gc.ca; Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, House of Commons, Ottawa Canada K1A 0A6 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=onbox@psepc.gc.ca; Minister of Defense Canada, Major Gen. George R. Pearkes Bldg., 101 Col. By Drive, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0K2 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=graham.b@gc.ca; Department of Justice Canada; Attorney General of Canada; Department of Indian Affairs; Hon. Paul Okalik, Premier, Government of Nunavut, Iqaluit NU Canada; Government of Yukon, Box 2703, Whitehorse, Yukon Canada Y1A 2C6 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=information@gov.yk.ca; NWT-George Bush, President of United States, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington DC 20500 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=president@whitehouse.gov; David Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, The Pentagon, Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=president@whitehouse.gov; -Andrew S. Eristoff, Commissioner, New York State Department of Taxation, W.A. Harriman Campus, Albany, NY 12227-0155 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=aeristoff@tax.state.ny.us; -Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 20530-0001 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=askdoj@usdoj.gov;Gail Norton, and George Skibine, Department of the Interior, 1849 C St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=webteam@ios.doi.gov; Tracey S. Toubu, Director, Office of Tribal Justice, United States Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington DC 20530 202-514-8812 Fax 202-514-9078 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=AskDOJ@usdoj.gov; U.S. Congress http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=askben@gpo.gov; Ralph Seekins, Justice Minister, Government of Alaska shttp://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=enatorralphseekins@legis.state.ak.us-U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=webmaster@usace.army.mil; The United States Army, 1500 Army Pentagon, Washington DC 20310-1500; The U.S. Navy, 1200 Navy Pentagon, Room 4B463, Washington DC 20350-1200; Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Public Affairs, Washington DC 20505-Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London SQ1A UK http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=press@royalcollection.org.uk; Governor General of Canada, Mme. Michaelle Jean, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@gg.ca-President Anders Fogh Masmussen, Denmark, Christiansborg – Prins Jortgens Gard 11 – 1218 Copenhagen K, Denmark http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=stm@stm.dk; Minister of Defense, Denmark, Forsvarsministeriet, Holmens Kanal 42, 1060 Kobenhavn K http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=fmn@fmn.dk; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Denmark, The Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United States, One Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, 885 Second Ave., 18th Fl., New York 10017 USA http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=nycmis@um.dk; Mr. Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, Rue de la Loi, 175 B-1048 Bruxelles http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=public.info@consilium.eu.int http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=press.office@consilium.eu.int-Bono, DATA, 1400 Eye St., N.W., Suite 1125 , Washington DC 20005-Canada Steam Ship Lines, Headquarters, 759 Square Victoria, Montreal, Quebec Canada H2Y 2K3 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ships@cslmtl.com http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=smitcham@cslmtl.com http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wmorrison@cslhfx.com http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=marcgir@mb.sympatico.ca; Royal Canadian Military Institute, 426 University Ave., Toronto ON Canada M5G 1S9 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=president@rcmi.org-Toronto Stock Exchange TSX Inc., http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=queries@tsxdatalinx.com; Montreal Stock Exchange/Bourse de Montreal Inc. P.O. Box 61, 800 Victoria Sq., Montreal Quebec H4Z 1A9 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@m-x.ca; Board of Directors, %The Corporate Secretary, New York Stock Exchange Incorporated, 11 Wall Street, New York, 10005 Fax 212-656-3939 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=corpsecy@nyse.com; Kathleen Chu, Tokyo Stock Exchange, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=schu2@bloomberg.net, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pcadvisor_letters@idg.com; Ann Moulier, London Stock Exchange, 10 Paternoster Sq., London UK EC4M 7LS http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=internet-team@londonstockexchange.com; Hong Kong Stock Exchange, 12/F One International Finance Center, 1 Harborview St., Central Hong Kong http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@hkex.com.hk http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=bjo@hkex.com.hk; -SAM Indexes Gmgh, DJSI, Seefeldstrasse 215, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@sustainability-indexes.com-Iroquois Caucus; Mohawk Council of Kanehsatake http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=bonspille.b@ysmpatico.ca; Six Nations Council; Chiefs, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Inc., 412 State Route 37, Akwesasne (New York) 13655 518-358-3203; Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, P.O. Box 579, Cornwall, Ontario K6H 5T3; -Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, P.O. Box 720, Kahnawake of Mohawk Territory, (Quebec) J0L 1B0; Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, R.R. 1, Tyendinaga of Mohawk Territory, Ontario 613-396-3424 Fax 613-396-3627; Cayuga Nation of Indians Inc., P.O. Box 11, Versailles, NY 14168 F 716-532-5417; Seneca Nation of Indians, Allegany Reservation, P.O. Box 231, Salamanca, NY 14779 F 716-945-1790; Cattaraugus Reservation, 1490 Route 438, Irving NY 14081 F 716-532-9132; Oneida Indian Nation of New York Inc., 223 Genesee St., Oneida NY 13421 F 315-361-6333; Onondaga Nation, Rte. 11A, Box 229, Nedrow, NY 13120, T 315-492-3041; Tonawanda Band of Senecas (Tonawanda Seneca Nation), 7027 Meadville Rd., Basom NY 14013 T 716-542-4244; Tuscarora Indian Nation, 2006 Mt. Hope Rd., Lewiston NY 14092 T 716-297-4990; Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Mohawkna@slic.com, Box 366, Rooseveltown, NY F 518-358-3488; Kanatsiohareke, 4934 State Hwy. 5, Fonda NY 12068 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=kanatsio@superior.net; Oneida Nation, RR 2, Southwold, Ont. N0L 2G0 T 518-652-5414; Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:ne, P.O. Box 1016, Akwesasne (NYS) 13655 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=katenies20@yahoo.com ;Organization of American States, 17th St. & Constitution NW, Washington DC 20006 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=multimedia@oas.org; World Trade Organization, Palais Eynard, Hotel municipal, 4 rue de la Croix-Rouge, 1211 Geneve 3, Switzerland http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=webmaster@ville-ge.ch; International Labor Organization, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=RELOFF@ilo.org; International Maritime Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR UK http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=media@imo.org; North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Blvd. Leopold III, 111- Brussels, Belgium http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=natodoc@hq.nato.int;-UN Office of High Commission for Human Rights, UN Plaza, S. 294, New York, 10017; http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=tb-petitions@ohchr.org http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=1503@ohchr.org http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=InfoDesk@ohchr.org; Rudolpho Stavenhagen, International Commission for Human Rights, P.O. Box 16, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland; Coalition for the International Criminal Court, %WFM, 708 3rd Ave., 24th Floor, New York (NYS) 10017, http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=cicc@iccnow.org; The Hague, Anna Paulownastraat 103, 251 BBC, The Netherlands t: +31-70-363-4484 F: +31-70-364-0259; Pope Benedictine XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, Rome, Italy; Shiva Vanadana http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=vshiva@giasdl01.net.in; UN Forum for Indigenous Peoples, Room DC2-1772, New York 10017 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=IndigenousPermanentForum@un.org-World Intellectual Property Organization, 34 Chemin de Colombettes, Geneva http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=information.center@wito.int; International Monetary Fund, 700 19th St., NW, Washington DC 20431, F 202-623-4661 lelgislative affairs http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mschrader@imf.org; -World Trade Organization, Mike Moore, 154 rue de Lausanne 1211, Geneva 21 Switzerland http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@gatt.org; World Bank, 1818 H St NW, Washington DC 20433 USA f 202-477-6391 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=hotline@worldbank.org; William K. Suter, Clerk, Supreme Court of the United States, 1 First St., NE, Washington DC 20543-0001Greenpeace International, Ottho Heldringstraat 5, 1066 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org; GreenParty http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@greenarty.ca; Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, Tennessee 38120 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=gpatterson@ducks.org http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=lhouseal@ducks.org http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=vtyler@ducks.org http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ajones@ducks.org; Sierra Legal Defence Fund-Amre M. Moussa, Arab League, Mr. Chavez, President of Venezuela ; Mr. Evo Gonzales, President of Bolivia; Government of Israel; Government of Palestine; DeBeers Diamonds; Exxon; British Petroleum; Shell Oil; Petro Canada; Forest ry industries in Canada; Fisheries industries in Canada;COECO Friends of the Earth-Costa Rica http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ; ISODEC/third World Network-Africa http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=WAPPIAH@ighmail.com; Western Shonone Defense Project http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wsdp@igc.org; JATAM/Mining Advocacy Network http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=jatam@jakarta.wasantara.net.id; Federation of Rondas Campesinas of Northern Peru http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ferocafe@net.telematic.com.pe; Minewatch Asia/Mining Communities Development Center http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=bongcorpuz@phil.gn.apc.org; Mineral Policy Center http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mpc@mineralpolicy.org; Mineral Policy Institute http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=inform@mpl.org.au; MiningWatch Canada http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mwc@magma.ca; Goldbusters http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=RRosenhek@aol.com; Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=emcbc@miningwatch.org; Project Underground http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=project_underground@moles.org;Sent August 21, 2007 via electronic and registered mail:Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President Russia; Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov, PM Russia; Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs; 4 Staraya Square, Moscow, 103132All mediaMNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/Category: “Women Title Holders”.Comments please send to kahentinetha2@yahoo.com , katenies20@yahoo.com
Mohawk Nation News
August 21, 2007
Originally, in January of 2006, this objection was sent out via electronic and registered mail to all states claiming sovereignty over our un-surrendered lands known as the Arctic Region/Turtle Island. This objection has been revised to include Russia and sent registered mail to the parties.Soon to be Posted: http://www.mohawknationnews.com/
News category “Women Title Holders” Attachment: Mohawk Manifesto
PUBLIC NOTICE OF OBJECTION TO ATTEMPTED USURPATION OF INDIGENOUS JURISDICTION KNOWN AS THE “ARCTIC REGION” OF TURTLE ISLAND BY THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, DENMARK, RUSSIA AND ANY OTHER NATION, CORPORATION, FOREIGN FEDERAL, STATE OR PROVINCIAL “GOVERNANCE” AGENCIES AND ALL “OUTSIDERS” AND NON-INDIGENOUS INTERESTSDATE: January 28, 2006FROM: Women Title Holders of the Kanion’ke:haka NationAccording to Wampum 44 of our law, the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Women Title Holders are the “progenitors of the soil” of Turtle Island. We are the Caretakers of the land, water and air of Turtle Island. We are notifying you and the International Forum of Nations of our constitutional jurisdiction in our land that is being violated.RE: Non-Indigenous invasion of Indigenous constitutional jurisdiction of Arctic Region of Turtle Island by Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and other outside entitiesTO: Canada; United States; Denmark; Russia; Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II; Governor General of Canada; all Provinces of Canada; President of United States; Department of Justice Canada; U.S. Department of Justice; Attorney General of Canada; U.S. Attorney General; Department of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior; Stock Exchanges Toronto, Montreal, New York, London. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Zurich; The Pentagon; U.S. Army and Navy; European Union; Department of Defense Canada; Canada Steamship Lines; others listed at end (Addresses at end of Public Notice).OBJECTION TO: The invasion of Indigenous constitutional jurisdiction by Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and their affiliates and all outside non-indigenous entities who are presently attempting to usurp the northern region of Turtle Island. Canada is fighting a turf war with Denmark over the “barren” Hans Island in the Arctic, and U.S. submarines have surfaced in the far north. Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia or any other corporations have no claim over this area which belongs to the Indigenous people of Turtle Island. We demand that you cease and desist, immediately your invasion and exploitation of Indigenous territory and its people.This turf war over the Arctic Region is a violation of our customs, practices and occupational jurisdiction. Modern international law seeks to protect small peoples from incursions by aggressive states who use military and economic force to impose their culture on others. According to both the Canadian constitution and the American constitution those states cannot simply appropriate our land, resources and territorial waters. Indigenous people never surrendered our rights. The Western Sahara case makes it very clear that a territory cannot be incorporated in another state without the informed consent of the majority of its people. This requirement has not been met.Neither, Canada, the United States, Denmark nor Russia has authority to extend colonial authority or jurisdiction over us. Any past agreements or treaties have been limited to allowing foreign settlers to live peacefully on our land.According to our agreements with Canada and the United States, any American, Canadian, Danish, Russian or other foreigner wishing to enter our territory for any reason whatsoever must deal with us through their state representative. No individual or foreign entity can invite outsiders onto our territory.The Women Title Holders have the authority to safeguard our land for the coming generations. We have always defended our right to self-determination. We continue to do this now that the right to self-determination is recognized as a universal human right.Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia never consulted us nor asked us for our consent to enter our Arctic waters and territory.This dispute between Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia over our territory, waters and resources has overlooked our rights. The colonial custom of appropriating the sources of indigenous sustenance is resulting in the genocide of many indigenous people and destroying the entire world environment for everybody. Mother Earth is already badly scarred and yet you have not modified your behavior.We demand that you to leave aside your colonial habits of the past. Move into the 21st Century in a way that respects our equal rights and common humanity.We are registering our objection to this illegal assumption of jurisdiction by Canada, United States, Denmark, and Russia and their agents. In Canada we took an action in the Supreme Court of Canada – Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:neh v. Attorney General of Canada and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario, Court File: 05-CV-030785.We brought this constitutional jurisdiction issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. See No. 05-165: 2005. In The Supreme Court of the United States In re Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:neh, Non-party, Petitioner/Movant/Appellant, The Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians, Plaintiffs, Respondents, v. The State of New York, Defendants, Respondents. Petition for Writs of Certiorari and Quo Warranto with Prohibition and Mandamus in Aid to Prevent Genocide. Rules 17.1 and 20.1.Whereas:1. Jurisdiction over our territory now called the “Arctic” and beyond, belongs to the Indigenous People of Turtle Island.2. Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia must respect that relations with us shall be conducted on a nation-to-nation basis.3. Canada and the United States never made a treaty of cession with the Indigenous People for the Arctic. Contact can only be with the constitutional Indigenous people to deal with this issue.4. The denial of a nation’s existence constitutes genocide, according to the many international covenants that Canada, United States, Denmark and Russia have pledged to uphold;Therefore:5. We demand that Canada, United States, Denmark, Russia and their corporate bodies and associates immediately cease and desist their illegal assumption of jurisdiction or presence in any way, shape or form on our territory, the Arctic .6. Finally, we demand to be officially informed of how international, federal, state and provincial entities can violate international law and the rule of law by superseding our jurisdiction over territory that we never surrendered through a treaty or any means whatsoever.By Kanion’ke:haka Women Title HoldersKahentinetha, Bear Clan /s/_________________________Katenies, Bear Clan /s/ ___________________________P.O. Box 991, Kahnawake of Mohawk Territory (Quebec, Canada) J0L 1B0 kahentinetha2@yahoo.com, katenies20@yahoo.comSent to:-Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, Government of Canada, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Canadahttp://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=harper.s@parl.gc.ca http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca; Bloc Quebecois, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa Canada http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Duceppe.g@parl.gc.ca; Jack Layton, New Democratic Party, 279 Laurier Ave., Ottawa Canada K1P 5J9 http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=layton.j@parl.gc.ca; Liberal Party of Canada, Dalton McGuinty, Premier. 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Moussa, Arab League, Mr. Chavez, President of Venezuela ; Mr. Evo Gonzales, President of Bolivia; Government of Israel; Government of Palestine; DeBeers Diamonds; Exxon; British Petroleum; Shell Oil; Petro Canada; Forest ry industries in Canada; Fisheries industries in Canada;COECO Friends of the Earth-Costa Rica http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ; ISODEC/third World Network-Africa http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=WAPPIAH@ighmail.com; Western Shonone Defense Project http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wsdp@igc.org; JATAM/Mining Advocacy Network http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=jatam@jakarta.wasantara.net.id; Federation of Rondas Campesinas of Northern Peru http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=ferocafe@net.telematic.com.pe; Minewatch Asia/Mining Communities Development Center http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=bongcorpuz@phil.gn.apc.org; Mineral Policy Center http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mpc@mineralpolicy.org; Mineral Policy Institute http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=inform@mpl.org.au; MiningWatch Canada http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mwc@magma.ca; Goldbusters http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=RRosenhek@aol.com; Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=emcbc@miningwatch.org; Project Underground http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=project_underground@moles.org;Sent August 21, 2007 via electronic and registered mail:Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President Russia; Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov, PM Russia; Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs; 4 Staraya Square, Moscow, 103132All mediaMNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/Category: “Women Title Holders”.Comments please send to kahentinetha2@yahoo.com , katenies20@yahoo.com
Monday, August 20, 2007
Uranium Mining, the Oglala Lakota People and Mni Wakan (Sacred Water)
Uranium Mining, the Oglala Lakota People and Mni Wakan (Sacred Water)
Water Contamination on the Homeland of the Oglala Band of the Lakota Nation
1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Territory
“Pine Ridge Agency, SD”
Crying Earth Rise Up!
“Some day the Earth will weep, She will beg for Her life, She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die, and when She dies, you too, will die.”
--John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
An Education Campaign by Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way, a Grass Roots Non-Governmental Organization on the Pine Ridge 2007
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
“Some day the Earth will weep, She will beg for Her life, She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die, and when She dies, you too, will die.” --John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
Crying Earth Rise Up! For many generations, our Lakota people lived on the plains and followed the stars for ceremony.
Our ancient Creation story teaches us that Tunkasila made all of Creation, woman and man and taught us to be a good relative to all of Creation. Mni, Water is a Sacred Gift of Creation.
Mni is the Adornment of Mother Earth, Mni is the companion of Woope, the daughter of Tunkasila. Woope is the Law.
Mni is our first home, when we arrive here on Mother Earth, the water of our mothers’ womb is our first dwelling. Water is our first medicine. Without water, there is no life.
The Spirit of Mni is also in the Star
Nation. In the form of steam, the Spirit of Mni enters the Human Body to nourish the Spirit.
Mni is part of every daily and ceremonial aspect of Lakol Wicohan, our Lakota lifeway.
After the coming of the white man, and many years of war making, the Oceti Sakowin -Seven Council Fires- known historically as the Great Sioux Nation-entered into the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the United States.
In the Treaty, our ancestors retained a land base for the Lakota Nation that includes parts of what is currently known as North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and Canada.
Our Treaty Territory contains our sacred land and Ceremonial Sites, and billions of dollars worth of Minerals, Plants, and Water.
Our ancestors and the United States government officials smoked our Sacred Pipe together and the U.S. Congress ratified the Treaty, so our people believe that the Treaty is true and binding, as long as the water flows and sweet grass grows.
Through America’s aggressive Treaty violations and the decimation of the Buffalo Nation, the Oglala Lakota were forced onto the reservation.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is located in southwestern South Dakota. The Pine Ridge Reservation was originally known as
Prisoner Of War Camp #344.
“Pine Ridge Indian Agency”
(The official Bureau of Indian Affairs terminology)
The U. S. Department of the Interior’s
Bureau of Indian Affairs Census reports that there are now 48,000 Oglala Lakota people, with 25,000 tribal members currently residing on the Pine Ridge. 65% of our population is age 25 and under.
Drinking Water Quality Tests on Pine Ridge
On the Pine Ridge, Drinking Water Quality tests conducted from 1995 to the present by the United States Geological Survey, the Indian Health Service, and the Oglala Sioux Tribal Rural Water Program and the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDDR) reveal contaminants in the groundwater.
There are two serious threats to our drinking water, Arsenic, and Alpha Emitters (radiation emitting).
Uranium Mining and Water Contamination The Tests Reveal the Contaminants: - Arsenic - Combined Radium 226 & 228 - Barium - Thorium 230 (not naturally occurring)- other Radioactive Alpha Emitters Maximum Contaminant Level, the MCL, measures contaminants and tell us the “safe” levels of contaminants.
Since the US Clean Water Act of 1972 drinking water quality is measured for contaminants.The MCL of Arsenic is 10 as of January 2006. An MCL above 10 is not in the “safe” level under US law. The Environmental Protection Agency’s MCL “goal” for Arsenic level is a measurement of zero, because the EPA cannot determine a true safe threshold level for Arsenic.
Once Arsenic is released into the environment, it cannot be contained.
It only changes form. According to the Indian Health Service Arsenic Tech Team the water quality test results in 2005 on Pine Ridge reveal that 98 wells have Arsenic levels 2 to 12 times higher than the MCL determined by law.
The wells of these families have been capped and their drinking water source has been changed to that of the water piped in from the Missouri River. (Call the Indian Health Service Arsenic Tech Team at 685-6561 to ask for copies of the Arsenic Reports)
In past decades, Open Pit Uranium Mining occurred Northwest of the Pine Ridge in the area of Edgemont, SD on the outskirts of our sacred Black Hills.
The milling of the Uranium took place by the Cheyenne River, which flows to the Pine Ridge. The radioactive waste from that Uranium Mine has since been buried underground for storage.
The area around Edgemont and the Northwest area of the Pine Ridge is over the Inyan Kara Aquifer and the White River Group. The Arikaree Aquifer flows under the center of the Pine Ridge.
The USGS and OST Rural Water tests document that wells and springs from these Aquifers reveal that contaminants of Arsenic, Radium 226 & 228, and Gross Alpha Emitters are higher than the safe and legal Maximum Contaminant level.
Some Alpha Emitters and Arsenic are naturally occurring due to Uranium in the ground, others as a result of mining. (Call the OST Rural Water Office in Pine Ridge at 867-1999 & ask for copies of their Annual Reports. The complete test results are in their reports)
These wells that exceed the MCL for Arsenic and Alpha Emitters have been closed and the drinking water is now piped in or trucked in to the community.
A summary of the OST Rural Water Reports and Indian Health Service shows that the Alpha Emitters from the following areas exceed the legal MCLs (highend range of composite tests):
Location of water test: Red Shirt
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 21.6 1999
5pCi/L 15.4 1999
15pCi/L 61.8 2000
5pCi/L 38.7 2000
15pCi/L 16.4 2001
5pCi/L 14.4 2001
15pCi/L 15 2002
5pCi/L 15 2002
Location of water test: Potato Creek
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 26.4 (well 3) 2003
15pCi/L 23.9 (well 2) 2003
Location of water test: White Horse Creek
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 15 2003
Nuclear Waste Contamination?
Have the nuclear waste tailings from the Uranium mines around the Edgemont area that washed into the Cheyenne River also get into the groundwater, thus traveling for many years underground to get here, under the Pine Ridge, into the Aquifer we drink from? Did the above ground tailings blow in the wind to our lands here on Pine Ridge? There has never been a definitive study across the reservation to determine possible sources of contamination.
Mni Wiconi Pipeline
The Mni Wiconi water line has only been here for a few years, prior to Mni Wiconi disconnecting our wells and connecting our homes to the pipeline, we drank groundwater for years, some homes that are land-based still drink from the groundwater, as they are not connected to the pipeline. According to the Annual Reports of Rural water, the drinking water they provide is groundwater pumped from 34 wells.
Practically the first sentence of the Congressional Bill which created with Mni Wiconi Program states that “the drinking water quality available to the Pine Ridge does not meet the minimum health and safety standards, thereby posing a threat to public health and safety”. (Mni Wiconi Act PL 100-516 (H.R. 2772) October 24, 1988 and amended PL 103-434 (S1146) October 31, 1994.
According to the 2003 Health Consultation Report of the Sharps Corner/Porcupine area conducted by the US Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry the private well samples studied in 1999 and 2000 for Radionuclides, the highest MCL detected was 75.9ugL, which is two and half times higher than the legal MCL of 30ugL. The sampling led the ATSDR to conclude that “ Radionuclides were the drinking water contaminant of concern for the Sharps Corner/Porcupine area”.
Of the eight water wells sampled, 50%, or half, of homes MCL for Radionuclides exceeded the EPA’s legal Maximum Contaminant Level for Gross Alpha Particle activity.
In the Radon part of the study, the air was measured in these homes. One-third or 30% of the homes were found to have results of Radon above the legal MCL.
The results summarized that the folks in these homes were ingesting radioactivity through the drinking water, as well as being contaminated by Radon through inhalation, breathing it in as it is in their homes. In every one of these homes, at least one family member died from Cancer. The ingestion and inhalation of Radionuclides also has a quicker effect on the kidney--many individuals will suffer kidney damage and die from the effects BEFORE they get cancer.
The USGS recommends further testing of our ground water to determine a better defined source of radioactive contaminants. The tests would separate the source of the contaminants of the naturally occurring Uranium in our groundwater from Gross Alpha Emitters that may have been pulled out of the ground through mining activities, entering the Aquifers. (Call the USGS Office in Rapid City and ask where to purchase copies of the reports)
In a letter addressed to OST President Steele in 2003, Lorelie DeCora responded to his question posed regarding the definition of a contaminant known as “Th-230” that he stated had been detected in groundwater quality tests conducted on the Pine Ridge. The Women of All Red Nations (WARN) Report issued a report in 1980 documenting water quality test results. Thorium 230 is a contaminant that results from Uranium tailings from mining. Thorium can be naturally occurring, but Thorium 230 is not naturally occurring. Thorium 230 will stay radioactive for 154,000 years. After 77,000 years, it becomes half of the value of its’ prior radioactivity. (Thorium 230=Th-230)
In Situ Leach Mining: “ISL”
Substances such as Inorganic Arsenic, Radium 226 & 228, Thorium 230 and other contaminants can enter groundwater as a result of mining. One type of mining that uses water is known as “In Situ Leach Mining”. ISL mining pulls Uranium up from the ground using Aquifer water, extracts the Uranium, stores the water in “monitoring” wells, and eventually injects it back into the Aquifer.
The ISL process also blends the contaminated water with clean Aquifer water to store it in the “monitoring” wells where the Radioactivity is measured after the Uranium is leached out to produce “Yellow Cake”. The water used to pull the Uranium out of the ground is also stored in “evaporation ponds”.
Radioactive Uranium and Barium Sludge Ponds and “monitoring wells”
result from the In Situ Leach mining process. It takes almost 5,000 years for this sludge to lose half of its radioactivity.
The ISL process presents the potential for leaks in the pipes that are used to “extract” the Uranium out of the ground. Such leaks would allow the radioactive water to seep out of the pipe and back into the groundwater, this has happened at ISL mines all over the world.
ISL Uranium Mine at
Crawford, Nebraska
“In Situ Leach Mining” is presently happening in Crawford, Nebraska at the Crow Butte Resources, Inc. Uranium Mine, which is owned by Cameco, Inc., the multinational energy corporation headquartered in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Cameco, Inc. is the worlds’ largest Uranium producer. This Crow Butte Uranium Mine has spilled or leaked thousands of gallons of contaminated water into our land, air, and ground water. The High Plains Aquifer that is under the Crow Butte Resources (CBR) Uranium Mine also flows under the Eastern portion of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The High Plains Aquifer contains portions of the Arikaree Aquifer.
The Crow Butte Uranium Mine uses 5,000 to 9,000 gallons of Aquifer water per minute the “In Situ Leach” method.
The CBR has at least three “evaporation ponds” where they store the contaminated water. The ponds are as big as a football field, lined with plastic and vinyl. They are 17 to 20 feet deep. And filled with radioactive sludge.
The “monitoring wells” where CBR stores contaminated water after the Uranium has been leached out are actually underground cement containers which hold the water for a period of time before it is placed in the “evaporation pond”. The CBR Uranium Mine produces one million pounds of “Yellow Cake” per year at its processing plant onsite. This “Yellow Cake” is stored in 55-gallon steel drums until transported. “Yellow Cake” is used to power Nuclear Power Plants and to make Nuclear Bombs through production of the world’s most powerful and most dangerous element: Plutonium.
Crow Butte Resources well soon seek renewal of their existing license and is proposing to expand their Uranium Mine north of Crawford, Nebraska, to an area near Whitney Lake and Dam, and the White River. The names of these two satellite ISL mines are the North Trend Area and the Three Crow area. The existing mine currently has over 8,000 wells at Crow Butte.
In this research effort, we could find no evidence that the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council has taken any action regarding the safety of this ISL mine and its effects on our groundwater.
ISL Uranium Mining is also planned to occur in the Black Hills area near Edgemont, SD by the Powertech Uranium Company which is now drilling exploratory wells for their proposed In Situ Leach Uranium Mine, and at the Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs, SD by the Newtron Energy Corporation.
Impacts of Mining on Humans and the Environment
The scientific community has conclusively determined that Inorganic Arsenic and Alpha Emitters are cancer causing to humans. Arsenic and Alpha Emitters are pulled out of the ground during the mining process, entering the groundwater, people drink the groundwater and become contaminated. There can be a 5, 10, or 20-year latency period of exposure to Arsenic and Alpha Emitters before cancer develops.
_________________________________CBR proposes 20 more years of Uranium Mining near Crawford, Nebraska. The Cameco, Inc. website states they have “a proven reserve of 60 million pounds of Uranium to extract”.How much water is that at 9,000 gallons per minute? 24 hours per day, 365 days per year for 20 more years… What will the number of gallons increase to once the two new Uranium Mines are developed and running?
There are about 321 people diagnosed with Diabetes each year on Pine Ridge. Currently, of our 25,000 residents, 10% of our Tribal Members have Diabetes. What will that number be after 20 more years of contamination?
Our people who are Diabetic patients seem to move to the Dialysis stage of the disease quickly, can this be a result of kidney damage sustained over many, many years of contamination of ingesting even low doses of Arsenic and Alpha Emitters?
The homes across the Pine Ridge whose test results revealed an illegal MCL of Arsenic now have filters provided by the Indian Health Service to filter Arsenic out of the water as it comes out of our kitchen faucet to purify the water we drink and cook with, but the water we bath our children in, wash our clothes with, water our lawns with, and shower with is not filtered. The Arsenic is still pouring into our homes.
According to the Indian Health Service official at the Aug 15, 2007 Environmental Health Tech Team meeting, “this shouldn’t be a concern because you have to drink it to be effected by it”. I wonder what scientists from other parts of the world say about that? Western Science is not the only science who studies such matters, a German scientist states he has proof that a low dose over time can have a more dramatic result than previously understood.
With the Crow Butte Resources’ existing mine and two new proposed mines 38 miles to the southeast of Pine Ridge, and the proposed Powertech Uranium Mine 60 miles to the Northwest of Pine Ridge, In Situ Leach Mining for Uranium has
the potential to contaminate all of the groundwater our people depend on for drinking water.
The Crow Butte Resources Uranium Mine has had leaks and spills every year since they have been in operation:
License Violations at Crow Butte ISL uranium mine (Nebraska) (www.wise-uranium.org)
Sept 26, 2006: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 5, 2006: leak detected at Pond 4
Jan 19, 2006: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Oct 27, 2005: Injection well leak detected
Aug 4, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
June 28, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
June 17, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 2, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 14, 2004: leak detected at Pond 1
Dec 23, 2003: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Dec 26, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Sept 10, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
April 4, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Dec 4, 2001: Monitor well placed on excursion status
March 2, 2001: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Sept 10, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 26, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
April 27, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
March 6, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
July 2, 1999: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Aug 7, 1998: Spill of 10,260 gallons of injection fluid
March 21, 1998: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Aug 12, 1997: Discovery of Pinhole Leaks in Upper Liner of Process Water Evaporation Pond
When an ISL well is placed in “excursion status” it is because some part of the pipes or containers or other parts of the apparatus is LEAKING/SPILLING the water/solution/Uranium mix back into the groundwater (Aquifer).
“The most critical part of the ISL process is to control the movement of the chemical solutions within the aquifer. Any escape of these solutions outside the ore zone is considered an excursion, and can lead to contamination of surrounding ground-water systems. Some of the most common causes of excursions, identified by international operations in the United States and across Europe, can be through old exploration holes that were not plugged adequately, plugging or blocking of the aquifer causing excess water pressure buildup and breaks in bores, and failures of injection/extraction pumps.” ("An Environmental Critique of In Situ Leach Mining : The Case Against Uranium Solution Mining" at www.sea-us.org.au)
Uranium Corporations say that ISL mining is environmentally friendly and safe, but according to researchers in the scientific community, “The ISL technique can lead to permanent contamination of groundwater and can contaminate land which was otherwise good productive land.”
According to news reports in Nebraska, Crow Butte Resources, Inc. experienced such a massive spill of more than 300,000 gallons of contaminated water that the area has been designated as “unfit for future use”—it is now considered a sacrifice area. (Instate News) as they are unable to clean up all of the contamination.
How will 20 more years of injecting contaminated water into all of the Aquifers that our people drink from effect our coming generations?
Inorganic Arsenic crosses the placenta
and can cause fetal death, it can be detected in Mothers’ breast milk.
Children’s bodies are more susceptible to the damaging effects of Inorganic Arsenic.
Are these contaminants connected to our high numbers of infant deaths? Of infant/children brain seizures? Of Down Syndrome babies born to young mothers? Of babies born with extraordinarily short umbilical cords?
In April 2005 the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council declared a situation of Eminent Threat due to test results of individual and community water wells exceeding the EPA Standard MCL of Gross Alpha Particle Radionuclide and Arsenic.
Oglala Sioux Tribal Council Resolution #2005-46 states that
Indian Health Service negligence in testing for safe drinking water has resulted in tribal members becoming ill.
The Resolution state that: the wells our people were drinking from were declared “Unfit for Consumption” due to illegal MCL’s.
Uranium Mining on the Pine Ridge?
With the known Uranium Deposit detected under the Pine Ridge land-base, how long will it be before the Energy Companies come here and offer millions or billions of dollars to the Oglala Lakota Tribal government to mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge?
The “Native American Energy Group” (NAEG) has approached the OST President John Steele regarding mining the Uranium under the Pine Ridge. According to memos and email letters, President Steele and Eileen Janis have met with NAEG at meetings both on the Pine Ridge and in the New York City boroughs. NAEG has sent founding documents and an Operating Agreement to President Steele. Some of the documents concern the development of a Minerals Corporation that would be comprised of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Native American Energy Group, the Ospraie and other entities. The purpose of the corporation would be to mine Uranium.
President Steele has stated that the estimate is millions of pounds of Uranium under the Pine Ridge in the Badlands and Eagle Nest area and that figures discussed include billions of dollars.
The Natural Resources Protection Team was formed in July of 2007. It is comprised of OST Program Directors that manage land, air, and water. Community groups including Bring Back the Way and Defenders of the Black Hills were invited to attend the organizational meeting.
At the meeting, a packet was distributed regarding the NAEG plan to mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge. The working group reached a consensus agreement asking President Steele to cancel all meetings with NAEG. From Bring Back the way, I asked the working group to consider that this decision to mine Uranium was actually regarding Treaty Territory and was too big of a decision for one man to make. I told the working group that I felt this moment in time was a “Crazy Horse moment”, and that there were people in our tribe who would not support the mining of Uranium on Pine Ridge.
However, President Steele did meet with NAEG on the Pine Ridge Reservation in July, and also then later traveled to the East Coast to meet with them again and has continued to correspond and communicate with them in spite of the consensus action of the Natural Resources Protection Team.
The OST Environmental Health Tech Team on Aug 15, 2007 met with the NAEG corporate delegation. The NAEG delegation included Eileen Janis, a Geologist, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer.
Why Did Native American Energy Group Come to the Pine Ridge?
NAEG explained how they came to the Pine Ridge:
· to provide a pilot project of tribal housing and find investors to pay for the project
· their next step was to assess the tribal members’ ability to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the new houses, and their assessment showed them the tribal members needed an economy to provide employment for them so they would have the funds to upkeep their homes
· so, their next step was to offer the discussion of possible economic development efforts that they could help the OST with
· NAEG next proposed that economic development could happen very quickly from an endeavor to mine Uranium
· they explained that the profits of Uranium Mining is an economic solution to the tribal members’ poverty and unemployment and would allow the new homeowners an income to pay for the upkeep of the 1,000-4,0000 homes NAEG would build here
· at the Aug 15 meeting the NAEG rep’s and Eileen Janis explained how the company can also do a water study comprehensive to the entire reservation with their investors paying for the cost, but the OST can choose the company who would test the water
· they said if the water tests reveal there is Uranium under our ground, they can provide investors who will then mine the Uranium to get it out of the ground for us
· many of us at the meeting questioned how the NAEG started with building homes for us and ended up with mining Uranium!
· no satisfactory answers were given
· the OST EHTT said they would take action to stop the NAEG from testing our ground water and from any further involvement on the Pine Ridge through the development of a Proclamation
· the OST Environmental and Health Tech Team will publish the “Proclamation” which will detail their position regarding the NAEG
· and will take the Proclamation in Ordinance form to the OST Land Committee and
· on the next OST Council meeting for full OST Council Action
Will this Proclamation and Ordinance 07-40 be the end of Native American Energy Group’s presence on the Pine Ridge?
It was reported at the Aug 15 meeting by a Tribal Council Representative that the OST Ambulance Service was preparing to move into their newly acquired facility on the I.H.S. compound, but were to be greatly surprised when they went to move in and found the NAEG Geologist living there! It was found that President Steele issued a written memo to I.H.S. Director Bill Pourier requisitioning the facility for the Geologist who would be doing the water study! (and who would be living there for 3 to 6 months for the duration of the study).
There was discussion that there has been official action by Tribal Council Committee approving or authorizing such a study to be done by the NAEG. Tribal workers at the Aug 15 meeting stated their concerns that there are protocols to testing groundwater-no one should just be able to come in and access our groundwater.
Health on the Pine Ridge
Do we need a comprehensive health study on the Pine Ridge?
According to the South Dakota Cancer Report of 2003, counties on the Pine Ridge have a “significantly higher rate of cancer, diabetes, and infant mortality than the SD state average for the time period of 2001-2005”.
SD health records also state that in the “2003 Study, the American Indian cancer death rate was 30% higher than that of whites in South Dakota.”
The state records include the data that from the years “1999-2003 while the cancer death rate decreased for whites in SD, it increased for American Indians”.
For the years “2003 through 2005, the American Indian infant mortality rate increased at almost twice the rate for the white people in South Dakota.”
The report: Cancer in South Dakota, 2003 states “that American Indians had the highest age-adjusted rates for Years of Potential Life Lost” and that “American Indians are dying at a much younger age compared to whites”.
Why is this so?
We need to encourage our tribal leadership and tribal government to conduct a health study to determine why our statistics are so high.
“An In Situ Leach Mine is a Liquid Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump.”
The Oglala Lakota People deserve to be informed about what the newly proposed Crow Butte Resources, Inc. In Situ Leach Uranium Mines will do to our future generations, water, land, people, animals, & plants.
The OST can and should do the right thing: investigate and produce a comprehensive report on this energy company’s violations and investigate how to hold them accountable to the EPA laws and other principles of respect for Mother Earth and our Sacred Water; and to hold the EPA and Federal Government responsible in upholding our Treaty and Human Rights to clean water, land, air, and health conditions based on a clean environment.
By passing OST Ordinance 07-40 (see below) on August 7, 2007, this is the responsibility Tribal Council made a commitment to.
This concept will be discussed at the Uranium Summit coming to the Pine Ridge this fall. Also to be discussed will be the proposed Uranium Mines elsewhere in 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Territory such as the Edgemont area and the Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs, SD.
-----
OST Council has yet to take specific action on the Crow Butte Resources license renewal and their application for two additional ISL Uranium Mines: the North Trend area and
the Three Crow area.
----
Crying Earth Rise Up!
Uranium Summit
September 2007
Pine Ridge Res
In Speaking of Radioactive Waste: “They have created something that cannot be destroyed” –Winona LaDuke
Environmental Justice
Survival of a People
What Is
Environmental Justice?
to native peoples, Environmental Justice goes beyond the issue of disproportionate toxic, nuclear contamination & health exposure of our elders, men, women, youth, children & our traditional food
Environmental Justice Includes: issues of exploitation, ecological damage, restoration of natural resources, compensation for victims of exposures & protection & healing of biological diversity that sustains us & allows us to practice our culture, language, & spirituality; the protection of all areas that are sacred & that are culturally & historically significant to our peoples and it
addresses economic development & social justice issues towards building sustainable communities with safe & sustainable jobs & livelihoods
Environmental justice: means the decolonization of our minds & recognition of traditional knowledge as the foundation of who we are
addresses ethical & policy issues concerning biotechnology, ownership of life, introduction of genetically modified organisms into the environment & policy issues on intellectual property rights of Indigenous knowledge; it means developing & maintaining education and language programs that teaches adults and the younger generation what their relationship is to the sacredness of our Mother Earth
means understanding and defending our treaties and to exercise our right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples; it means to claim our inherent right to protect our traditional land, water, air and our future generations
In the United States, it means the right to develop our own tribal environmental protection programs with our own water and air quality standards, and seek delegated authority to implement our own environmental programs - which strengthens our sovereignty
In the United States and Canada, it means to have the right to fully protect our environment and all natural resources in our traditional territories, reserves and reservations by applying, monitoring and enforcing our own tribal-based environmental, historical, sacred areas, endangered species and conservation laws
Environmental Justice means to be active-from the grassroots to tribal government-in all policy decisions from local, tribal, state, national and international levels where policy development is made that affects our future generations and all life that sustains us and our Mother Earth.
“Environmental Justice” by Indigenous Environmental Network
tel: 218-751-4967
email: ien@igc.org http://www.ien.org/
Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way,
Debra White Plume tel: 605-455-2155 or
Vic Camp tel: 605-867-5995
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/epte
On August 7, 2007 the OST passed Ordinance #07-40 which recognizes the responsibility of the OST to protect the land, air, water, and people of the tribe and which criminalizes nuclear contamination on the Pine Ridge and within 1851& 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty boundaries.
“No Uranium Mining
on Lakota Land”
Research Conducted by:
Rayette Camp
Victorio Camp
Aaron Price
Matt Rankin
Chris Soverow
The late Marlin “Moon Weston”
Debra White Plume
Source Materials:
Oglala Sioux Tribe Mni Wiconi Program Annual Reports 1999-2006 (Rural Water)
OST Water & Sewer Program Reports
OST Ordinances and Resolutions
OST Archives Office
Environmental Protection Agency
Instate News (Nebraska)
US Geological Study 1992-1997
Wise Uranium
Indigenous Mining
SD Dept of Health & Human Services
Indian Health Service,
Pine Ridge Agency
Aberdeen Area Office
· The Case Against Uranium Solution Mining "An Environmental Critique of In Situ Leach Mining” at http://www.sea-us.org.au/
· Cancer in South Dakota, 2003
For info contact:
Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way)
PO Box 325
Manderson, SD 57756
Debra White Plume, Director 605-455-2155
Victorio Camp, Coordinator 605-867-5995
cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com (email address)
“Some day
the Earth will weep,
She will beg for Her life,
She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die,
and when She dies,
you too, will die.”
--John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
Crying Earth Rise Up!
Uranium Mining,
the Oglala Lakota People
& Mni Wakan
(Sacred Water)
A Publication of
Bring Back the Way
PO Box 325
Manderson, SD 57756
Copy & Distribute!
“An In Situ Leach Mine Is A
Liquid Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump”
In Situ Leach Mining for the extraction of Uranium is happening south of Pine Ridge at the Crow Butte Resources, Inc. Uranium Mine in Dawes County, Neb, south of Crawford. They propose to expand the mine by opening two satellites: the North Trend Area and the Three Crow Area.
There is an energy corporation: Native American Energy Group (NAEG) approaching the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) to explore for and mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge. Discussions currently (summer 2007) are in motion to form a Minerals Corporation comprised of the OST, NAEG, and other entities. Why is this occurring without the people’s knowledge?
So far there has been no OST Council action on the matter of the ISL mine near Crawford, Nebraska.
OST Rural Water, I.H.S., U.S.G.S. test results reveal radioactive nuclides and Arsenic in our drinking water.
Where are these contaminants coming from?
Why are our cancer, diabetes, infant mortality & birth defect rates higher than those of South Dakota and even the United States?
Members of the OST deserve a comprehensive epidemiology health study to determine if there is a relationship between the contaminated water and health conditions.
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
An Education Campaign by Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way,
a Grass Roots Non-Governmental Organization on the Pine Ridge
2006-2007
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
Water Contamination on the Homeland of the Oglala Band of the Lakota Nation
1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Territory
“Pine Ridge Agency, SD”
Crying Earth Rise Up!
“Some day the Earth will weep, She will beg for Her life, She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die, and when She dies, you too, will die.”
--John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
An Education Campaign by Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way, a Grass Roots Non-Governmental Organization on the Pine Ridge 2007
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
“Some day the Earth will weep, She will beg for Her life, She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die, and when She dies, you too, will die.” --John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
Crying Earth Rise Up! For many generations, our Lakota people lived on the plains and followed the stars for ceremony.
Our ancient Creation story teaches us that Tunkasila made all of Creation, woman and man and taught us to be a good relative to all of Creation. Mni, Water is a Sacred Gift of Creation.
Mni is the Adornment of Mother Earth, Mni is the companion of Woope, the daughter of Tunkasila. Woope is the Law.
Mni is our first home, when we arrive here on Mother Earth, the water of our mothers’ womb is our first dwelling. Water is our first medicine. Without water, there is no life.
The Spirit of Mni is also in the Star
Nation. In the form of steam, the Spirit of Mni enters the Human Body to nourish the Spirit.
Mni is part of every daily and ceremonial aspect of Lakol Wicohan, our Lakota lifeway.
After the coming of the white man, and many years of war making, the Oceti Sakowin -Seven Council Fires- known historically as the Great Sioux Nation-entered into the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the United States.
In the Treaty, our ancestors retained a land base for the Lakota Nation that includes parts of what is currently known as North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and Canada.
Our Treaty Territory contains our sacred land and Ceremonial Sites, and billions of dollars worth of Minerals, Plants, and Water.
Our ancestors and the United States government officials smoked our Sacred Pipe together and the U.S. Congress ratified the Treaty, so our people believe that the Treaty is true and binding, as long as the water flows and sweet grass grows.
Through America’s aggressive Treaty violations and the decimation of the Buffalo Nation, the Oglala Lakota were forced onto the reservation.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is located in southwestern South Dakota. The Pine Ridge Reservation was originally known as
Prisoner Of War Camp #344.
“Pine Ridge Indian Agency”
(The official Bureau of Indian Affairs terminology)
The U. S. Department of the Interior’s
Bureau of Indian Affairs Census reports that there are now 48,000 Oglala Lakota people, with 25,000 tribal members currently residing on the Pine Ridge. 65% of our population is age 25 and under.
Drinking Water Quality Tests on Pine Ridge
On the Pine Ridge, Drinking Water Quality tests conducted from 1995 to the present by the United States Geological Survey, the Indian Health Service, and the Oglala Sioux Tribal Rural Water Program and the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDDR) reveal contaminants in the groundwater.
There are two serious threats to our drinking water, Arsenic, and Alpha Emitters (radiation emitting).
Uranium Mining and Water Contamination The Tests Reveal the Contaminants: - Arsenic - Combined Radium 226 & 228 - Barium - Thorium 230 (not naturally occurring)- other Radioactive Alpha Emitters Maximum Contaminant Level, the MCL, measures contaminants and tell us the “safe” levels of contaminants.
Since the US Clean Water Act of 1972 drinking water quality is measured for contaminants.The MCL of Arsenic is 10 as of January 2006. An MCL above 10 is not in the “safe” level under US law. The Environmental Protection Agency’s MCL “goal” for Arsenic level is a measurement of zero, because the EPA cannot determine a true safe threshold level for Arsenic.
Once Arsenic is released into the environment, it cannot be contained.
It only changes form. According to the Indian Health Service Arsenic Tech Team the water quality test results in 2005 on Pine Ridge reveal that 98 wells have Arsenic levels 2 to 12 times higher than the MCL determined by law.
The wells of these families have been capped and their drinking water source has been changed to that of the water piped in from the Missouri River. (Call the Indian Health Service Arsenic Tech Team at 685-6561 to ask for copies of the Arsenic Reports)
In past decades, Open Pit Uranium Mining occurred Northwest of the Pine Ridge in the area of Edgemont, SD on the outskirts of our sacred Black Hills.
The milling of the Uranium took place by the Cheyenne River, which flows to the Pine Ridge. The radioactive waste from that Uranium Mine has since been buried underground for storage.
The area around Edgemont and the Northwest area of the Pine Ridge is over the Inyan Kara Aquifer and the White River Group. The Arikaree Aquifer flows under the center of the Pine Ridge.
The USGS and OST Rural Water tests document that wells and springs from these Aquifers reveal that contaminants of Arsenic, Radium 226 & 228, and Gross Alpha Emitters are higher than the safe and legal Maximum Contaminant level.
Some Alpha Emitters and Arsenic are naturally occurring due to Uranium in the ground, others as a result of mining. (Call the OST Rural Water Office in Pine Ridge at 867-1999 & ask for copies of their Annual Reports. The complete test results are in their reports)
These wells that exceed the MCL for Arsenic and Alpha Emitters have been closed and the drinking water is now piped in or trucked in to the community.
A summary of the OST Rural Water Reports and Indian Health Service shows that the Alpha Emitters from the following areas exceed the legal MCLs (highend range of composite tests):
Location of water test: Red Shirt
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 21.6 1999
5pCi/L 15.4 1999
15pCi/L 61.8 2000
5pCi/L 38.7 2000
15pCi/L 16.4 2001
5pCi/L 14.4 2001
15pCi/L 15 2002
5pCi/L 15 2002
Location of water test: Potato Creek
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 26.4 (well 3) 2003
15pCi/L 23.9 (well 2) 2003
Location of water test: White Horse Creek
Safe Detected Date of
MCL MCL Test
15pCi/L 15 2003
Nuclear Waste Contamination?
Have the nuclear waste tailings from the Uranium mines around the Edgemont area that washed into the Cheyenne River also get into the groundwater, thus traveling for many years underground to get here, under the Pine Ridge, into the Aquifer we drink from? Did the above ground tailings blow in the wind to our lands here on Pine Ridge? There has never been a definitive study across the reservation to determine possible sources of contamination.
Mni Wiconi Pipeline
The Mni Wiconi water line has only been here for a few years, prior to Mni Wiconi disconnecting our wells and connecting our homes to the pipeline, we drank groundwater for years, some homes that are land-based still drink from the groundwater, as they are not connected to the pipeline. According to the Annual Reports of Rural water, the drinking water they provide is groundwater pumped from 34 wells.
Practically the first sentence of the Congressional Bill which created with Mni Wiconi Program states that “the drinking water quality available to the Pine Ridge does not meet the minimum health and safety standards, thereby posing a threat to public health and safety”. (Mni Wiconi Act PL 100-516 (H.R. 2772) October 24, 1988 and amended PL 103-434 (S1146) October 31, 1994.
According to the 2003 Health Consultation Report of the Sharps Corner/Porcupine area conducted by the US Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry the private well samples studied in 1999 and 2000 for Radionuclides, the highest MCL detected was 75.9ugL, which is two and half times higher than the legal MCL of 30ugL. The sampling led the ATSDR to conclude that “ Radionuclides were the drinking water contaminant of concern for the Sharps Corner/Porcupine area”.
Of the eight water wells sampled, 50%, or half, of homes MCL for Radionuclides exceeded the EPA’s legal Maximum Contaminant Level for Gross Alpha Particle activity.
In the Radon part of the study, the air was measured in these homes. One-third or 30% of the homes were found to have results of Radon above the legal MCL.
The results summarized that the folks in these homes were ingesting radioactivity through the drinking water, as well as being contaminated by Radon through inhalation, breathing it in as it is in their homes. In every one of these homes, at least one family member died from Cancer. The ingestion and inhalation of Radionuclides also has a quicker effect on the kidney--many individuals will suffer kidney damage and die from the effects BEFORE they get cancer.
The USGS recommends further testing of our ground water to determine a better defined source of radioactive contaminants. The tests would separate the source of the contaminants of the naturally occurring Uranium in our groundwater from Gross Alpha Emitters that may have been pulled out of the ground through mining activities, entering the Aquifers. (Call the USGS Office in Rapid City and ask where to purchase copies of the reports)
In a letter addressed to OST President Steele in 2003, Lorelie DeCora responded to his question posed regarding the definition of a contaminant known as “Th-230” that he stated had been detected in groundwater quality tests conducted on the Pine Ridge. The Women of All Red Nations (WARN) Report issued a report in 1980 documenting water quality test results. Thorium 230 is a contaminant that results from Uranium tailings from mining. Thorium can be naturally occurring, but Thorium 230 is not naturally occurring. Thorium 230 will stay radioactive for 154,000 years. After 77,000 years, it becomes half of the value of its’ prior radioactivity. (Thorium 230=Th-230)
In Situ Leach Mining: “ISL”
Substances such as Inorganic Arsenic, Radium 226 & 228, Thorium 230 and other contaminants can enter groundwater as a result of mining. One type of mining that uses water is known as “In Situ Leach Mining”. ISL mining pulls Uranium up from the ground using Aquifer water, extracts the Uranium, stores the water in “monitoring” wells, and eventually injects it back into the Aquifer.
The ISL process also blends the contaminated water with clean Aquifer water to store it in the “monitoring” wells where the Radioactivity is measured after the Uranium is leached out to produce “Yellow Cake”. The water used to pull the Uranium out of the ground is also stored in “evaporation ponds”.
Radioactive Uranium and Barium Sludge Ponds and “monitoring wells”
result from the In Situ Leach mining process. It takes almost 5,000 years for this sludge to lose half of its radioactivity.
The ISL process presents the potential for leaks in the pipes that are used to “extract” the Uranium out of the ground. Such leaks would allow the radioactive water to seep out of the pipe and back into the groundwater, this has happened at ISL mines all over the world.
ISL Uranium Mine at
Crawford, Nebraska
“In Situ Leach Mining” is presently happening in Crawford, Nebraska at the Crow Butte Resources, Inc. Uranium Mine, which is owned by Cameco, Inc., the multinational energy corporation headquartered in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Cameco, Inc. is the worlds’ largest Uranium producer. This Crow Butte Uranium Mine has spilled or leaked thousands of gallons of contaminated water into our land, air, and ground water. The High Plains Aquifer that is under the Crow Butte Resources (CBR) Uranium Mine also flows under the Eastern portion of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The High Plains Aquifer contains portions of the Arikaree Aquifer.
The Crow Butte Uranium Mine uses 5,000 to 9,000 gallons of Aquifer water per minute the “In Situ Leach” method.
The CBR has at least three “evaporation ponds” where they store the contaminated water. The ponds are as big as a football field, lined with plastic and vinyl. They are 17 to 20 feet deep. And filled with radioactive sludge.
The “monitoring wells” where CBR stores contaminated water after the Uranium has been leached out are actually underground cement containers which hold the water for a period of time before it is placed in the “evaporation pond”. The CBR Uranium Mine produces one million pounds of “Yellow Cake” per year at its processing plant onsite. This “Yellow Cake” is stored in 55-gallon steel drums until transported. “Yellow Cake” is used to power Nuclear Power Plants and to make Nuclear Bombs through production of the world’s most powerful and most dangerous element: Plutonium.
Crow Butte Resources well soon seek renewal of their existing license and is proposing to expand their Uranium Mine north of Crawford, Nebraska, to an area near Whitney Lake and Dam, and the White River. The names of these two satellite ISL mines are the North Trend Area and the Three Crow area. The existing mine currently has over 8,000 wells at Crow Butte.
In this research effort, we could find no evidence that the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council has taken any action regarding the safety of this ISL mine and its effects on our groundwater.
ISL Uranium Mining is also planned to occur in the Black Hills area near Edgemont, SD by the Powertech Uranium Company which is now drilling exploratory wells for their proposed In Situ Leach Uranium Mine, and at the Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs, SD by the Newtron Energy Corporation.
Impacts of Mining on Humans and the Environment
The scientific community has conclusively determined that Inorganic Arsenic and Alpha Emitters are cancer causing to humans. Arsenic and Alpha Emitters are pulled out of the ground during the mining process, entering the groundwater, people drink the groundwater and become contaminated. There can be a 5, 10, or 20-year latency period of exposure to Arsenic and Alpha Emitters before cancer develops.
_________________________________CBR proposes 20 more years of Uranium Mining near Crawford, Nebraska. The Cameco, Inc. website states they have “a proven reserve of 60 million pounds of Uranium to extract”.How much water is that at 9,000 gallons per minute? 24 hours per day, 365 days per year for 20 more years… What will the number of gallons increase to once the two new Uranium Mines are developed and running?
There are about 321 people diagnosed with Diabetes each year on Pine Ridge. Currently, of our 25,000 residents, 10% of our Tribal Members have Diabetes. What will that number be after 20 more years of contamination?
Our people who are Diabetic patients seem to move to the Dialysis stage of the disease quickly, can this be a result of kidney damage sustained over many, many years of contamination of ingesting even low doses of Arsenic and Alpha Emitters?
The homes across the Pine Ridge whose test results revealed an illegal MCL of Arsenic now have filters provided by the Indian Health Service to filter Arsenic out of the water as it comes out of our kitchen faucet to purify the water we drink and cook with, but the water we bath our children in, wash our clothes with, water our lawns with, and shower with is not filtered. The Arsenic is still pouring into our homes.
According to the Indian Health Service official at the Aug 15, 2007 Environmental Health Tech Team meeting, “this shouldn’t be a concern because you have to drink it to be effected by it”. I wonder what scientists from other parts of the world say about that? Western Science is not the only science who studies such matters, a German scientist states he has proof that a low dose over time can have a more dramatic result than previously understood.
With the Crow Butte Resources’ existing mine and two new proposed mines 38 miles to the southeast of Pine Ridge, and the proposed Powertech Uranium Mine 60 miles to the Northwest of Pine Ridge, In Situ Leach Mining for Uranium has
the potential to contaminate all of the groundwater our people depend on for drinking water.
The Crow Butte Resources Uranium Mine has had leaks and spills every year since they have been in operation:
License Violations at Crow Butte ISL uranium mine (Nebraska) (www.wise-uranium.org)
Sept 26, 2006: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 5, 2006: leak detected at Pond 4
Jan 19, 2006: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Oct 27, 2005: Injection well leak detected
Aug 4, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
June 28, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
June 17, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 2, 2005: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 14, 2004: leak detected at Pond 1
Dec 23, 2003: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Dec 26, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Sept 10, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
April 4, 2002: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Dec 4, 2001: Monitor well placed on excursion status
March 2, 2001: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Sept 10, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
May 26, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
April 27, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
March 6, 2000: Monitor well placed on excursion status
July 2, 1999: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Aug 7, 1998: Spill of 10,260 gallons of injection fluid
March 21, 1998: Monitor well placed on excursion status
Aug 12, 1997: Discovery of Pinhole Leaks in Upper Liner of Process Water Evaporation Pond
When an ISL well is placed in “excursion status” it is because some part of the pipes or containers or other parts of the apparatus is LEAKING/SPILLING the water/solution/Uranium mix back into the groundwater (Aquifer).
“The most critical part of the ISL process is to control the movement of the chemical solutions within the aquifer. Any escape of these solutions outside the ore zone is considered an excursion, and can lead to contamination of surrounding ground-water systems. Some of the most common causes of excursions, identified by international operations in the United States and across Europe, can be through old exploration holes that were not plugged adequately, plugging or blocking of the aquifer causing excess water pressure buildup and breaks in bores, and failures of injection/extraction pumps.” ("An Environmental Critique of In Situ Leach Mining : The Case Against Uranium Solution Mining" at www.sea-us.org.au)
Uranium Corporations say that ISL mining is environmentally friendly and safe, but according to researchers in the scientific community, “The ISL technique can lead to permanent contamination of groundwater and can contaminate land which was otherwise good productive land.”
According to news reports in Nebraska, Crow Butte Resources, Inc. experienced such a massive spill of more than 300,000 gallons of contaminated water that the area has been designated as “unfit for future use”—it is now considered a sacrifice area. (Instate News) as they are unable to clean up all of the contamination.
How will 20 more years of injecting contaminated water into all of the Aquifers that our people drink from effect our coming generations?
Inorganic Arsenic crosses the placenta
and can cause fetal death, it can be detected in Mothers’ breast milk.
Children’s bodies are more susceptible to the damaging effects of Inorganic Arsenic.
Are these contaminants connected to our high numbers of infant deaths? Of infant/children brain seizures? Of Down Syndrome babies born to young mothers? Of babies born with extraordinarily short umbilical cords?
In April 2005 the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council declared a situation of Eminent Threat due to test results of individual and community water wells exceeding the EPA Standard MCL of Gross Alpha Particle Radionuclide and Arsenic.
Oglala Sioux Tribal Council Resolution #2005-46 states that
Indian Health Service negligence in testing for safe drinking water has resulted in tribal members becoming ill.
The Resolution state that: the wells our people were drinking from were declared “Unfit for Consumption” due to illegal MCL’s.
Uranium Mining on the Pine Ridge?
With the known Uranium Deposit detected under the Pine Ridge land-base, how long will it be before the Energy Companies come here and offer millions or billions of dollars to the Oglala Lakota Tribal government to mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge?
The “Native American Energy Group” (NAEG) has approached the OST President John Steele regarding mining the Uranium under the Pine Ridge. According to memos and email letters, President Steele and Eileen Janis have met with NAEG at meetings both on the Pine Ridge and in the New York City boroughs. NAEG has sent founding documents and an Operating Agreement to President Steele. Some of the documents concern the development of a Minerals Corporation that would be comprised of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Native American Energy Group, the Ospraie and other entities. The purpose of the corporation would be to mine Uranium.
President Steele has stated that the estimate is millions of pounds of Uranium under the Pine Ridge in the Badlands and Eagle Nest area and that figures discussed include billions of dollars.
The Natural Resources Protection Team was formed in July of 2007. It is comprised of OST Program Directors that manage land, air, and water. Community groups including Bring Back the Way and Defenders of the Black Hills were invited to attend the organizational meeting.
At the meeting, a packet was distributed regarding the NAEG plan to mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge. The working group reached a consensus agreement asking President Steele to cancel all meetings with NAEG. From Bring Back the way, I asked the working group to consider that this decision to mine Uranium was actually regarding Treaty Territory and was too big of a decision for one man to make. I told the working group that I felt this moment in time was a “Crazy Horse moment”, and that there were people in our tribe who would not support the mining of Uranium on Pine Ridge.
However, President Steele did meet with NAEG on the Pine Ridge Reservation in July, and also then later traveled to the East Coast to meet with them again and has continued to correspond and communicate with them in spite of the consensus action of the Natural Resources Protection Team.
The OST Environmental Health Tech Team on Aug 15, 2007 met with the NAEG corporate delegation. The NAEG delegation included Eileen Janis, a Geologist, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer.
Why Did Native American Energy Group Come to the Pine Ridge?
NAEG explained how they came to the Pine Ridge:
· to provide a pilot project of tribal housing and find investors to pay for the project
· their next step was to assess the tribal members’ ability to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the new houses, and their assessment showed them the tribal members needed an economy to provide employment for them so they would have the funds to upkeep their homes
· so, their next step was to offer the discussion of possible economic development efforts that they could help the OST with
· NAEG next proposed that economic development could happen very quickly from an endeavor to mine Uranium
· they explained that the profits of Uranium Mining is an economic solution to the tribal members’ poverty and unemployment and would allow the new homeowners an income to pay for the upkeep of the 1,000-4,0000 homes NAEG would build here
· at the Aug 15 meeting the NAEG rep’s and Eileen Janis explained how the company can also do a water study comprehensive to the entire reservation with their investors paying for the cost, but the OST can choose the company who would test the water
· they said if the water tests reveal there is Uranium under our ground, they can provide investors who will then mine the Uranium to get it out of the ground for us
· many of us at the meeting questioned how the NAEG started with building homes for us and ended up with mining Uranium!
· no satisfactory answers were given
· the OST EHTT said they would take action to stop the NAEG from testing our ground water and from any further involvement on the Pine Ridge through the development of a Proclamation
· the OST Environmental and Health Tech Team will publish the “Proclamation” which will detail their position regarding the NAEG
· and will take the Proclamation in Ordinance form to the OST Land Committee and
· on the next OST Council meeting for full OST Council Action
Will this Proclamation and Ordinance 07-40 be the end of Native American Energy Group’s presence on the Pine Ridge?
It was reported at the Aug 15 meeting by a Tribal Council Representative that the OST Ambulance Service was preparing to move into their newly acquired facility on the I.H.S. compound, but were to be greatly surprised when they went to move in and found the NAEG Geologist living there! It was found that President Steele issued a written memo to I.H.S. Director Bill Pourier requisitioning the facility for the Geologist who would be doing the water study! (and who would be living there for 3 to 6 months for the duration of the study).
There was discussion that there has been official action by Tribal Council Committee approving or authorizing such a study to be done by the NAEG. Tribal workers at the Aug 15 meeting stated their concerns that there are protocols to testing groundwater-no one should just be able to come in and access our groundwater.
Health on the Pine Ridge
Do we need a comprehensive health study on the Pine Ridge?
According to the South Dakota Cancer Report of 2003, counties on the Pine Ridge have a “significantly higher rate of cancer, diabetes, and infant mortality than the SD state average for the time period of 2001-2005”.
SD health records also state that in the “2003 Study, the American Indian cancer death rate was 30% higher than that of whites in South Dakota.”
The state records include the data that from the years “1999-2003 while the cancer death rate decreased for whites in SD, it increased for American Indians”.
For the years “2003 through 2005, the American Indian infant mortality rate increased at almost twice the rate for the white people in South Dakota.”
The report: Cancer in South Dakota, 2003 states “that American Indians had the highest age-adjusted rates for Years of Potential Life Lost” and that “American Indians are dying at a much younger age compared to whites”.
Why is this so?
We need to encourage our tribal leadership and tribal government to conduct a health study to determine why our statistics are so high.
“An In Situ Leach Mine is a Liquid Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump.”
The Oglala Lakota People deserve to be informed about what the newly proposed Crow Butte Resources, Inc. In Situ Leach Uranium Mines will do to our future generations, water, land, people, animals, & plants.
The OST can and should do the right thing: investigate and produce a comprehensive report on this energy company’s violations and investigate how to hold them accountable to the EPA laws and other principles of respect for Mother Earth and our Sacred Water; and to hold the EPA and Federal Government responsible in upholding our Treaty and Human Rights to clean water, land, air, and health conditions based on a clean environment.
By passing OST Ordinance 07-40 (see below) on August 7, 2007, this is the responsibility Tribal Council made a commitment to.
This concept will be discussed at the Uranium Summit coming to the Pine Ridge this fall. Also to be discussed will be the proposed Uranium Mines elsewhere in 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Territory such as the Edgemont area and the Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs, SD.
-----
OST Council has yet to take specific action on the Crow Butte Resources license renewal and their application for two additional ISL Uranium Mines: the North Trend area and
the Three Crow area.
----
Crying Earth Rise Up!
Uranium Summit
September 2007
Pine Ridge Res
In Speaking of Radioactive Waste: “They have created something that cannot be destroyed” –Winona LaDuke
Environmental Justice
Survival of a People
What Is
Environmental Justice?
to native peoples, Environmental Justice goes beyond the issue of disproportionate toxic, nuclear contamination & health exposure of our elders, men, women, youth, children & our traditional food
Environmental Justice Includes: issues of exploitation, ecological damage, restoration of natural resources, compensation for victims of exposures & protection & healing of biological diversity that sustains us & allows us to practice our culture, language, & spirituality; the protection of all areas that are sacred & that are culturally & historically significant to our peoples and it
addresses economic development & social justice issues towards building sustainable communities with safe & sustainable jobs & livelihoods
Environmental justice: means the decolonization of our minds & recognition of traditional knowledge as the foundation of who we are
addresses ethical & policy issues concerning biotechnology, ownership of life, introduction of genetically modified organisms into the environment & policy issues on intellectual property rights of Indigenous knowledge; it means developing & maintaining education and language programs that teaches adults and the younger generation what their relationship is to the sacredness of our Mother Earth
means understanding and defending our treaties and to exercise our right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples; it means to claim our inherent right to protect our traditional land, water, air and our future generations
In the United States, it means the right to develop our own tribal environmental protection programs with our own water and air quality standards, and seek delegated authority to implement our own environmental programs - which strengthens our sovereignty
In the United States and Canada, it means to have the right to fully protect our environment and all natural resources in our traditional territories, reserves and reservations by applying, monitoring and enforcing our own tribal-based environmental, historical, sacred areas, endangered species and conservation laws
Environmental Justice means to be active-from the grassroots to tribal government-in all policy decisions from local, tribal, state, national and international levels where policy development is made that affects our future generations and all life that sustains us and our Mother Earth.
“Environmental Justice” by Indigenous Environmental Network
tel: 218-751-4967
email: ien@igc.org http://www.ien.org/
Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way,
Debra White Plume tel: 605-455-2155 or
Vic Camp tel: 605-867-5995
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/epte
On August 7, 2007 the OST passed Ordinance #07-40 which recognizes the responsibility of the OST to protect the land, air, water, and people of the tribe and which criminalizes nuclear contamination on the Pine Ridge and within 1851& 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty boundaries.
“No Uranium Mining
on Lakota Land”
Research Conducted by:
Rayette Camp
Victorio Camp
Aaron Price
Matt Rankin
Chris Soverow
The late Marlin “Moon Weston”
Debra White Plume
Source Materials:
Oglala Sioux Tribe Mni Wiconi Program Annual Reports 1999-2006 (Rural Water)
OST Water & Sewer Program Reports
OST Ordinances and Resolutions
OST Archives Office
Environmental Protection Agency
Instate News (Nebraska)
US Geological Study 1992-1997
Wise Uranium
Indigenous Mining
SD Dept of Health & Human Services
Indian Health Service,
Pine Ridge Agency
Aberdeen Area Office
· The Case Against Uranium Solution Mining "An Environmental Critique of In Situ Leach Mining” at http://www.sea-us.org.au/
· Cancer in South Dakota, 2003
For info contact:
Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way)
PO Box 325
Manderson, SD 57756
Debra White Plume, Director 605-455-2155
Victorio Camp, Coordinator 605-867-5995
cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com (email address)
“Some day
the Earth will weep,
She will beg for Her life,
She will cry with tears of blood. You will make a choice, if you will help her or let her die,
and when She dies,
you too, will die.”
--John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota, 1932
Crying Earth Rise Up!
Uranium Mining,
the Oglala Lakota People
& Mni Wakan
(Sacred Water)
A Publication of
Bring Back the Way
PO Box 325
Manderson, SD 57756
Copy & Distribute!
“An In Situ Leach Mine Is A
Liquid Radioactive Nuclear Waste Dump”
In Situ Leach Mining for the extraction of Uranium is happening south of Pine Ridge at the Crow Butte Resources, Inc. Uranium Mine in Dawes County, Neb, south of Crawford. They propose to expand the mine by opening two satellites: the North Trend Area and the Three Crow Area.
There is an energy corporation: Native American Energy Group (NAEG) approaching the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) to explore for and mine Uranium on the Pine Ridge. Discussions currently (summer 2007) are in motion to form a Minerals Corporation comprised of the OST, NAEG, and other entities. Why is this occurring without the people’s knowledge?
So far there has been no OST Council action on the matter of the ISL mine near Crawford, Nebraska.
OST Rural Water, I.H.S., U.S.G.S. test results reveal radioactive nuclides and Arsenic in our drinking water.
Where are these contaminants coming from?
Why are our cancer, diabetes, infant mortality & birth defect rates higher than those of South Dakota and even the United States?
Members of the OST deserve a comprehensive epidemiology health study to determine if there is a relationship between the contaminated water and health conditions.
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
An Education Campaign by Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way,
a Grass Roots Non-Governmental Organization on the Pine Ridge
2006-2007
http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
email: cryingearthriseup@yahoo.com
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