Saturday, July 31, 2010

Roberto Rodriguez: In Lak Ech, Panche Be & Hunab Ku: What State Officials Don't Want Arizona School Children to Know

In Lak Ech, Panche Be & Hunab Ku: The Philosophical Foundation for Raza Studies
or What State Officials Don’t Want Arizona School Children To Know

by Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez, Ph.D.

For the next few months, the world will be focusing on Arizona’s SB 1070 – the state’s new racial profiling law. However, in this insane asylum known as Arizona, where conservatives have concocted one reactionary scheme after another, another law in particular stands out for its embrace of Dark Ages-era censorship – the 2010 anti-ethnic studies HB 2281 – a law that seeks to codify the “triumph” of Western Civilization with its emphasis on Greco-Roman culture.

Unless it is blocked, HB 2281 – which creates an Inquisitorial mechanism that will determine which books and curriculums are acceptable in the state – will go into effect on Jan 1, 2011. Books such as Occupied America by Rodolfo Acuña and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, have already been singled out as being un-American and preaching the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.

Both laws are genocidal: one law attacks the physical presence of red-brown peoples; the other one, our minds and spirits.

Lost in the tumultuous debate regarding what can be taught in the state’s schools is the topic of what actually constitutes Ethnic/Raza Studies.

In general, the philosophical foundation for Raza Studies are several Indigenous concepts, including: In Lak Ech, Panche Be and Hunab Ku. Over the past generation, the first two concepts have become fairly well known in the Mexican/Chicana/Chicano communities of the United States. The third concept, Hunab Ku, is relatively less well known, though it actually forms the foundation for In Lak Ech – ‘Tu eres mi otro yo – You are my other self’ and Panche Be – ‘to seek the root of the truth’ or ‘to find the truth in the roots’. As explained by Maya scholar, Domingo Martínez Paredez, Hunab Ku is the name the Maya gave in their language to the equivalence of the Supreme Being or the Grand Architect of the Universe (Hunab Ku, 1970). Such concept is an understanding of how the universe functions.

These three concepts are rooted in a philosophy based on maiz. Maiz, incidentally, is the only crop in the history of humanity that was created by humans. Also, the Indigenous peoples of this continent are the only peoples in the history of humanity to have created their/our own food – maiz – a food so special that it is what virtually unites not simply this continent, but this era. These three maiz-based concepts, in effect, constitute the essence of who we are or who we can be; human beings connected to each other, to all of life and creation. Part of creation; not outside of it. This is the definition of what it means to be human. While these concepts are Indigenous to this continent, they also exist generally in all cultures.

Despite the destruction of the many thousands of the ancient books of the Maya (along with those of the Aztecs-Mexica) by Spanish priests during the colonial era, these Maya-Nahua concepts were not destroyed, nor are they consigned to the past. Today, they continue to be preserved and conveyed via ceremony, oral traditions, poetry and song (In Xochitl – In Cuicatl) and danza. And they continue to be developed by life’s experiences.

In Raza Studies, these ideas are designed to reach those that are unfamiliar with these concepts, including and in particular, Mexicans/Chicanos and Central Americans and other peoples from the Americas who live in the United States and who are maiz-based peoples or gente de maiz, albeit, sometimes far-removed from the cornfield or milpa. Despite their disconnection from the fields and despite the disconnection from the planting cycles and accompanying ceremonies – and in many cases the ancestral stories – their/our daily diet consciously and unconsciously keeps us connected to this continent and to the other original peoples and cultures of this continent.

In part, this effort to understand these concepts is an attempt to reclaim a creation/resistance culture, as opposed to viewing themselves/ourselves as foreigners or merely as U.S. minorities. It is also an affirmation that de-Indigenized Mexicans/Chicana/Chicano and Central and South American peoples are not trying to revive or learn from dead cultures. Instead, as elders from throughout this continent generally affirm, these cultures have never died and neither have these concepts; peoples have simply been disconnected from them. That is one definition of colonization and/or de-Indigenization. The effort to understand these and similar concepts and to embrace and live by them, is also one definition of de-colonization. And to be sure, it is elders from throughout the Americas that have for more than a generation reached out to these communities, imploring them/us to “return to our roots.”

Asserting the right to this knowledge that is Indigenous to this very continent is an effort to proclaim both the humanity and Indigeneity of peoples who are matter-of-factly treated as unwelcome and considered alien in this society. HB 2281 bizarrely treats this knowledge as “un-American.”

Additionally, asserting the right to write modern amoxtlis or codices – is also part of an effort to proclaim that all peoples – including de-Indigenized peoples – also have the right not simply to repeat (or recreate) things ancient, but to produce their/our own living knowledge. And in the case of Arizona – with red-brown peoples continuously under siege – these concepts can help us bring about peace, dignity and justice, with the potential to create better human beings of all of us.

The above is a synopsis of Amoxtli X – The X Codex, 2010, Eagle Feather Research Feather Institute, by Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, in collaboration with several authors. He can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com.
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You change my way of writing, you change my way of thinking. You change my way of thinking, you change who I am.

Arizona: Human rights protests interrupt raids on first day of SB 1070

For Immediate Release (July 31, 2010)


Contact: Chris Newman, NDLON. 323.380.2784


Opal Tometi, Puente. 602.349.1073


Human Rights Protests Interrupt Scheduled Raids on First Day of SB 1070


Sheriff Retaliates with Targeted Wrongful Arrest of Salvador Reza, Leader of the Puente Movement



PHOTO: July 30, 2010: 10+ people of conscience stood in front of Sheriff Arpaio's convoy in Phoenix the day after others shut down the jail and forced the Sheriff to cancel a mid-day raid.


All were arrested chanting "Arrest Arpaio not the People"

At Initial Hearing Prosecutor and Judge Agree, “I can find no probable cause” for this arrest.

Phoenix, AZ. July 31, 2010.

The day after Judge Bolton’s partial injunction of Arizona SB 1070, communities across the globe participated in an International Day of Non-Compliance. The escalation of activities and the expansion of their reach demonstrate a turning point in the movement for human rights in Arizona.

The events signaled that the partial injunction would not solve the humanitarian crisis in Arizona. Carlos Garcia of the Puente Movement stated, “There is no partial solution to hatred. We reject unconstitutional laws and racist immigration practices that separate families and rob us of our basic humanity.”

Organizers drew the root cause of the issue to President Obama’s federal enforcement ICE access programs that empower local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws. Protesters called on the President to end the criminalization of migrant communities with “the stroke of a pen.”

Beginning with a banner that was unfurled from a 230 ft. tall construction crane in Phoenix the night before, Phoenix witnessed more than 80 protesters arrested in acts of civil disobedience credited with interrupting the raids Sheriff Arpaio planned on doing in the middle of the day.

On Friday, Sheriff Deputies wrongfully arrested Salvador Reza, a leader of the Arizona-based Puente Movement. Reza was entering his car across the street from the entrance to Sheriff Arpaio’s jail where 11 concerned people of conscience had in an unrelated act earlier placed their bodies in the way of the Sheriff’s vehicles en route to raid another neighborhood.

Calls instantly began to spread via social networking sites to “Free Sal,” claiming the human rights activist as a political prisoner. Upon initial appearance, the judge and prosecutor agreed that there was no evidence of any probable cause.

“Now human rights activists are being detained by the Sheriff. What more needs to happen for President Obama to reconsider his programs and take real action to solve the humanitarian crisis in Arizona,” asked Carlos Garcia of the Puente Movement after Reza’s arrest.

Follow @ndlon and @puenteaz on Twitter. http://altoarizona.com/

Photos available http://flickr.com/photos/puenteaz Video http://youtube.com/puenteaz



Friday, July 30, 2010

Shiprock: Official Neglects Stalls Shelter for Women and Children

News Briefing




OFFICIAL NEGLECT STALLS SHELTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN


The Home for Women and Children in Shiprock, Navajo Nation (New Mexico) has served woman and child victims of family violence and sexual assault since 1978. It provides emergency and transitional shelter for women and children but operates from a temporary facility. The program contracted to build larger and more secure shelter facility in 2003. The current temporary facility cannot satisfy emergency demand.


The Home provides services the government cannot, and serves the Shiprock Chapter, so the Navajo Nation made a contract with RJN Construction Management, Inc. on July 1, 2007 to undertake whatever work is necessary to complete the new shelter facility. It is an “open-ended” contract that authorizes construction work, with funding from whatever source, until the project is completed.


Representative Ray Begaye, a Navajo legislator who represents northwest New Mexico in the New Mexico Legislature, sought a funding appropriation to finish the shelter, along with other projects, and on June 5, 2010 the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department informed the Navajo Nation of a $1,145,000 grant dedicated to the shelter. The State and New Mexico signed an intergovernmental agreement on February 2, 2010 where the Navajo Nation pledged “to make site improvements and to construct, equip and furnish the home for women, and children in Shiprock.” The grant expires on June 20, 2011 and the Home must factor in weather, construction delay and warranty inspection work to meet that deadline. The Navajo Nation has not authorized construction to date, although more than one year has passed since the New Mexico gave the grant, and six months has gone since the Navajo Nation agreed to have the work done.


President Joe Shirley, Jr. directed that action be taken to complete the Shelter but bureaucrats within the Navajo Nation Department Justice are blocking action. The President authorized an emergency procurement for the contractor and on July 26, 2010 the Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management declared that there is a public emergency from inaction, citing the need to provide shelter, a current New Mexico budget crisis that jeopardizes the grant, and the safety of victims of domestic violence. Alvin H. Warren, the New Mexico Indian Affairs Cabinet Secretary, supported the emergency declaration, also citing the failure to move forward with the project and time constraints.


The Home points out that, given the open-ended contract the Navajo Nation has with RJN Construction, all that is needed to start and complete the work is a notice to proceed, and one has not been issued. Further confusion and bureaucratic stalling, or even litigation, will likely keep the project from moving and cause the State of New Mexico to recapture the grant because it has expired or monies have not been obligated.


The Home needs public support to demand that the Attorney General approve an emergency procurement to complete the home and that the Abin Mitchell of the Navajo Nation Division of Community Development give immediate orders for the project to proceed to completion.


Gloria Champion, the director of the Shiprock Home, looked at the grant deadline and said, “2011—2011–the women and children can’t wait! We’re cramped, overcrowded and we can’t keep up with emergency demand. We’re having to refer families out and they have no where to go. We need more space now!” Champion called from Washington, D.C. after attending the White House ceremony for President Obama to sign the new Indian Country Law and Order Act at the invitation of federal officials. “I just witnessed badly-needed federal support for women and child victims of crime—where is the Navajo Nation’s support for them and our shelter?”


People who want to support the Shiprock Home shelter can call the office of the Attorney General and Arbin Mitchell of the Division of Community Development to demand immediate action, and also call President Joe Shirley, Jr.’s office to express support. Contact numbers:


Attorney General, Department of Justice (928) 871-6345, -6205


Division of Community Development (928) 871-6810


Office of President Joe Shirley, Jr. (928) 871-7000


Issued by authorization of Gloria Champion, Executive Director, Home for Women and Children on July 30, 2010.


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Thursday, July 22, 2010

More photos: Church Rock 1979 Uranium Spill Commemoration







Photos copyright by Garrett Brennan Stewart
Navajos commemorated the 1979 Church Rock uranium spill on July 16, 2010, as new uranium mining targets Church Rock, where the land and water remain heavily contaminated.
Read more, with more photos:

Monday, July 19, 2010

Franks Landing: Memorial and Movement Gathering Aug 8-10, 2010

..

....
WHEN: August 8 – 9, 2010
WHERE: Wahelut Indian School
Franks Landing Community, 11110 Conine Ave SE Olympia, WA 98513
Info: 1-360-458-5331
e-mail: ai40years@gmail.com

Salt Lake: Native American Powwow/Golf Tournament July 23 -- 24, 2010


Rodriguez: Leticia X is Human II: Tragedy & Waiting for Pres. Obama

Leticia X is Human II: Tragedy & Waiting for Pres. Obama
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez


In October of 2009, I wrote a column about a brilliant high school DREAM student whose goal is to attend college in the fall of 2010. I referred to her as Leticia X. When she spoke to my class at the University of Arizona last fall, she had my students in tears, knowing full well that unless the immigration laws change, she will be unable to pursue her dream.


Leticia X has a special love of land (agriculture) and her dream as a new high school graduate is to become a teacher in Mexican American Studies. I saw her this past week at the annual Raza/Ethnic Studies conference in Tucson, but this time, it was she who was in tears because her father had been picked up that morning by local Sheriff’s deputies and was subsequently turned over to the border patrol.


The most dynamic of educators from across the country had come to learn about the battle against HB 2281 – the new anti ethnic studies law – and the SB 1070 law – the racial profiling law scheduled to take effect July 29. Her presence was a reminder of how Arizona has become the epicenter of dehumanization; her life, and the lives of her family are now in limbo. At the prompting of a professor who had just met Leticia X, the educators instantly sprung to her defense.


Because Congress has still not reformed the nation’s immigration system, she will not be living her dream this fall, though she is now undergoing an even greater tragedy, in this insane asylum known as the apartheid state of Arizona.


Leticia X is not afraid of using her real name. When she spoke to my class, she used her actual name and high school. It is I who chooses not to identify her publically (Recently, DREAM students staged a sit-in at McCain’s Tucson office, subjecting themselves to arrest so that they themselves can take control of their own movement. In Phoenix, other DREAM students served Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio with a community indictment, charging him with crimes against humanity.


Incidentally, Leticia X does not consider herself undocumented or an illegal alien. Neither do other DREAM students conceive of themselves in such a manner. Neither do I. To do so buys into the dehumanization that has become normalized in this society.


The notion that children, who had no choice in coming to this country can be considered illegal, stands logic and the law on its head. Minimally, it is immoral to say the least. To break the law, one has to consciously break a law. Leticia X crossed into the United States at age three… hardly an age when she could have consciously broken any law whatsoever.


She considers herself a U.S. citizen because she has no conscious memory of any other nation than this one; she is guilty of no crime, and should be treated as such. The potential deportation of her father/family puts a human face on the inhumanity that our society has descended to. Her father is not illegal either; his only “crime” was to try and make a better life for his family.


This is at a time when President Obama recently directed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to concentrate on deporting violent criminals who are a threat to the public safety and (a canard) those who are a threat to national security. Leticia X’s father is neither. Neither is his family.


In the heat of an electoral campaign, where she is vying to become the elected governor of the state… and in the heat of defending the state’s racial profiling law, Arizona’s unelected Gov. Jan Brewer has taken the lead in the misinformation department, alleging that most migrants are carrying drugs and that drug cartels have been beheading people in the Arizona desert. Both are fiction.


Brewer should meet Leticia X. If she did, she would come face to face with a beautiful human being, guilty of no crimes and deserving to be treated as a full human being. If anything, this future teacher merits a full scholarship.


President Obama should also meet Leticia X. He should meet her father and be reminded about his recently declared immigration enforcement priorities. Upon meeting them, he would know the face of this debate; he would know that it is high time to reform the nation’s immigration laws and that it is also high time to bring millions of people, not into Arpaio’s infamous tents, but rather, into the tent of humanity.


For more info re this unfolding situation: landandfreedom@gmail.com. To support Leticia X and her father, checks can be written to: Barrio Sustainability Project – TYLO. They can be sent to: Tierra Y Libertad Organization, 3649 S. 7th Ave. Tucson, AZ 85713


Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com


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PO BOX 85476
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Saturday, July 17, 2010

White Plumes 2004 Protest of Lewis and Clark in Bismark, ND

Lakota protest Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Bismarck from suree towfighnia on Vimeo.

Debra White Plume:
Lewis n Clark Reenactment did not put their boats back in the water after we had a confrontation over their propaganda lies on Manifest Destiny. We all know they were really exploring for gold, silver, water, and other parts of Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth). We protested at their every stop in order to provide our side of the story, the real story of the DAWN OF GENOCIDE. Sometimes people just have to take a stand, take risks, do Direct Action, in order to tell the truth.

Video: In the fall of 2004, we travel to Bismarck, ND, to document a stand against a Lewis and Clark celebration of the 200-year anniversary of the popular exploration.
This out-take from the feature "Standing Silent Nation" shares some direct action from members of the Lakota nation, who spend this cold day educating others about their side of the history.
For more information about Owe Aku visit, http://www.bringbacktheway.com/
For information about the film/makers visit,
http://www.standingsilentnation.com/

Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council Submission on UN Declaration

Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council Submittal to State Department on Declaration

Greetings from the International Justice Program of Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way.

As most of you know, the State Department of the United States has begun a review of its position on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The State Department arranged for "consultations with federally recognized Indian tribes and meetings with interested nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders."
The Lakota Nation by the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council submitted the attached (below) in writing with respect to the review.
The four-page letter begins with:
"Greetings from the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council (“BHTC”). The BHTC represents the
Lakota people in our sovereign relationship with the United States of American as preserved in the Fort
Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868. We come now to address you regarding the review and
“consultation” process under which the people of the United States of America, through you, their
representatives, are considering the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(“DRIP”). We wish to address two points in particular:
1. “Consultations” with Indian Reorganization Act governments under the supervision of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) established in 1934 on Indian territories in violation of due process and the
treaty relationship between our governments, are not authorized or qualified to discuss issues relating to
the nation-to-nation relationship, treaties or international rights; and
2. The people of the United States of America, to maintain its claim as a just-minded nation with
respect for diverse peoples of the world and the human rights of those peoples, must give unqualified
support to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.
Kent Lebsock
Coordinator
Owe Aku International Justice Program
oweakuinternational@me.com
==============================================================
Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council
P.O. Box 71
Manderson, SD 57756
MEMBER RESERVATIONS
Cheyenne River
Crow Creek
Fort Peck
Lower Brule
Pine Ridge
Rosebud
Standing Rock
Santee
July 13, 2010
Hilary Clinton
℅ S/SR Global
Intergovernmental Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW Suite 1317
Washington, DC 20520
via email to declaration@state.gov
President Barack Obama
The White House
600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Ken Salazar
Secretary of Interior
1849 C. Street, NW
Room 4146 - MIB
Washington, DC 20240
Larry Echo Hawk
Assistant, Secretary of Interior
1849 C. Street, NW
Room 4146 - MIB
Washington, DC
Bob Ecoffey, BIA Superintendant
Red Cloud Agency
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Representatives of the United States of America:
Greetings from the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council (“BHTC”). The BHTC represents the
Lakota people in our sovereign relationship with the United States of American as preserved in the Fort
Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868. We come now to address you regarding the review and
“consultation” process under which the people of the United States of America, through you, their
representatives, are considering the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(“DRIP”). We wish to address two points in particular:
1. “Consultations” with Indian Reorganization Act governments under the supervision of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) established in 1934 on Indian territories in violation of due process and the
treaty relationship between our governments, are not authorized or qualified to discuss issues relating to
the nation-to-nation relationship, treaties or international rights; and
2. The people of the United States of America, to maintain its claim as a just-minded nation with
respect for diverse peoples of the world and the human rights of those peoples, must give unqualified
support to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
1. “Consultations” with Indian Reorganization Act governments under the supervision of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) established in 1934 on Indian territories in violation of due
process and the treaty relationship between our governments, are not authorized or qualified to
discuss issues relating to the nation-to-nation relationship, treaties or international rights
Although we appreciate that the United States of America and her people have decided to reexamine its
position on the United Nations document crafted and consented to by Indigenous peoples all over the
world, as well as all member nations of the United Nations EXCEPT the United States and Canada, we
reaffirm that international diplomacy and advocacy is the sovereign right of the BHTC. Over the
years, the American people have unilaterally established mechanisms through the United States Congress
with the assistance of the American “judicial” system, US intelligence agencies and the military, which
are purposefully designed to divert focus from the real issues of treaties, self-determination and
sovereignty when it comes to the Lakota Nation. Nowhere has this process been clearer or more
destructive the United States’ imposition of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (“IRA”).1 The IRA
established tribal government is:
“. . . based, not in native traditions, but in ‘constitutions’ and/or ‘charters’ drafted by the
BIA…. Worst of all, ... the IRA decreed an electoral form of ‘democratic majority rule
which was and still is structurally antithetical to the consensual form of decision making
and selection of leadership integral to most indigenous traditions. The Reorganization
Act was thus designed to undercut the unity marking traditional native societies,
replacing it with a permanent divisiveness. . .”2
Divisiveness has indeed been the result. For most traditional Native Americans, the IRA has been nothing
more than “a blueprint for elected tyranny.”3 The 1934, Indian Reorganization Act, established the
Oglala Sioux Tribal government in violation of the treaty of 1868 as well as the process unilaterally
established by the United States to “approve” the IRA government.
In order to pass the legislation, the bill provided that each Native nation vote on its provisions in a
“democratic façade.”4 However, due to the substantial and vocal opposition to the IRA, pressure and
less-than-honest voting techniques were used. 5 “Consultations” (in the same manner as today) were
organized across the country to explain the IRA but, interestingly, the actual text of the proposed
legislation was not available for review. But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the “democratic
façade” was the rules established by the U.S. for the voting process itself.
“Although the IRA seemed to provide for tribal ratification of its terms, it did so in a way
that effectively negated [Indian] wishes. Tribal members could vote to either accept or
reject the IRA, but all abstentions (that is ‘votes’ of anyone who didn’t vote) were counted
as votes in favor of the IRA. . .”6
The election itself is a violation of Article 2 of the 1868 Treaty in that it disturbed the “undisturbed use
and occupation” of the Lakota Nation by the Lakota people and any changes to that treaty must be
approved by “at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians.”7 Changing the traditional form of
government is certainly a violation of the “undisturbed use” clause.
Setting that aside, however, it has already been stated that Lakota people do not “vote.” Anyone remotely
familiar with traditional Lakota governance knows that, when you object to something, or oppose
something and your view does not prevail, you simply do not participate. Therefore, provisions providing
that abstentions count as votes in favor of the IRA are completely contrary to Lakota tradition,
common sense and justice. Nonetheless, despite treaty violations and voting techniques that equal
Rwandan election protocols, at Pine Ridge, in the heart of the Lakota Nation, even utilizing the
abstentions as votes in favor of the IRA did not provide sufficient votes to empower the IRA
government.8
page 2
The forced imposition of the IRA is an egregious violation of international treaty law, the right to selfdetermination
as set forth in the United Nations Charter, and the United States Constitution which
declares treaties to be the ‘supreme law of the land.‘ Vine Deloria stated that with the IRA the United
States “set up puppet governments on the reservation and somehow mysteriously governs all aspects of
tribal life by remote control.”9 Its purpose was and is to impose what can only be described as colonial
rule within the territories of sovereign nations.
Therefore, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Tribal Government established by an act of Congress under the IRA or
any representatives claiming to act on behalf of the Lakota Nation who are sanctioned by the IRA
government, cannot discuss, negotiate, amend, modify, or propose any changes to the 1851 or 1868 Fort
Laramie Treaties. These rights are solely reserved for the representatives of the traditional Lakota
government as represented by the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council. “Consultations” regarding
any international obligation of either party to the treaty must be done through the rightful representatives
of the Lakota nation and the Oceti Sakowin Bands.
2. The people of the United States of America must give unqualified support to the Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in order to maintain its representation that it is a democracy
based on and in support of justice, human rights, and self-determination for all peoples.
Their is no viable reason for the United State to NOT endorse the Declaration. The document went
through nearly 20 years of debate within various bodies of the United Nations. During this time the
United States had ample opportunity to comment. Often it put up unrealistic obstacles and wielded its
power to remove provisions that were consistent with international law, treaties that ensure the evolution
of human rights standards, and the well-established right to self-determination of all peoples.
Innumerable tracts and research papers have been presented intricately describing the just and legal basis
for the Declaration and the often unreasonable position of the United States. There is no need to repeat
them all here (although we stand ready to discuss them with you if you so desire).
Critically though, in the end Indigenous peoples and representatives of UN member nations
overwhelmingly endorsed the Declaration. Only four countries, all colonial nations established by Great
Britain (Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States), failed to support the Declaration. Since
then, New Zealand and Australia have endorsed the Declaration. It appears Canada will also soon join
with the world. When that happens the United States of America and her people will be isolated amongst
the nations of the world demonstrating U.S. support of the ongoing racism, ethnic cleansing and genocide
being perpetrated against Indigenous peoples all over the world. Without endorsement of the Declaration,
America’s true intentions about the illegal abrogation of treaties, theft of resources, cultural genocide and
the purposeful policies of inter-generational poverty against Native peoples will also be obvious to the
world.
Therefore, Chief Oliver Red Cloud, Itancan, and the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council, who have
the inherent right and authority to discuss, negotiate, and participate in all international matters involving
the Oceti Sakowin, urge the United States of America to endorse, without qualification or reservation, the
United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples.
C-E-R-T-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N
I, the undersigned Spokesperson of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council, Alexander White Plume,
do hereby certify that the above represents the consensus of the Oglala Delegation of the Black Hills
Sioux Nation Treaty Council:
page 3
Alexander White Plume, Eyapaha,
Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council
AWP/kl
oweakuinternational@me.com
917-751-4239
page 4
1 25 U.S.C. 461- 279
2 Rebecca L. Robbins, Self-Determination and Subordination, The Past, Present and Future of American
Indian Governance in The State of Native America, Genocide, Colonization and Resistance, 95, (M.
Annette Jaimes, Ed.), South End Press (1992).
3 Burnette and Koster, Road to Wounded Knee, 16, Bantum Books, Inc. (1974).
4 Rebecca L. Robbins, supra.
5 The Native American historian, Rupert Costo stated that Indian Commissioner John Collier, who had
been instrumental in pushing the legislation through Congress and Indian Country, “was vindictive and
overbearing. He tolerated no dissent, neither from his staff nor from the tribes. . . He did not hesitate to
use informants and the FBI against Indian opponents. He habitually tampered with the truth in his
dealings with the Indians.”
6 Rebecca L. Robbins, supra.
7 Treaty with the Sioux – Brule, Oglala, Miniconjou, Yanktonai, Hunkpapa, Blackfeet, Cuthead, Two Kettle,
Sans Arcs and Santee – and Arapaho, Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, 5 Stat. 635.
8 “It was subsequently discovered that a sufficient number of dead people had cast ballots to provide a
pretext for ratification. Even after this was established to have been the case, the ratification was
described as ‘binding’ upon the Oglalas. The same sort of situation pertained to the reorganization of the
Cheyenne River . . . Reservation and elsewhere.” Rebecca L. Robbins, supra.
9 Vine Deloria, Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins, 147, (New York: Macmillan Co., 1969).

Friday, July 16, 2010

Unist'ot'en rally and set up camp to stop Enbridge and KSL




Unist’ot’en rally and set up camp to stop Enbridge and KSL

MEDIA RELEASE: Unist’ot’en rally and set up camp to stop Enbridge and KSL pipelines
Photos by Ben Powless, Mohawk

DATE: July 16, 2010

Unist’ot’en organize a large demonstration rally to notify governments and industry about their existing regulatory regime and of their responsibility to protect and restore their devastated environments

Smithers, BC: The ‘Unist’ot’en of the Wet’suwet’en Nation alongside their grassroots allies and supporters assembled in Smithers to organize a rally designed to assert their title and rights on their ancient lands. The rally was organized and led by the ‘Unist’ot’en leadership and had the demonstrators primarily target the Ministry of Forests offices and the Ministry of Environment office. The following is the list of demands that were delivered to the Ministry offices who issue permits and licences for industry and private interests.

1. The Unist’ot’en are a legitimate governing body who have never ceded our surrendered our ancient lands to any party. A regulatory regime will be resurrected to ensure that all interests on ‘Unist’ot’en lands are solely and primarily directed to the rightful owners;

2. The ‘Unist’ot’en law (‘Inuk nu’ot’en) for any outside parties who want to do business on ‘Unist’ot’en Yintah (traditional territories) requires meaningful “Free, Prior, and Informed Consent” with legitimate Clan/House Group membership prior to any development on unceded traditional territories. This is a measure that will be enforced to prevent the infringement of their section 35(1) rights and title and infringement on ‘Unist’ot’en ‘Inik nu’ot’en;

“Our ‘Unist’ot’en members will not sway under the threats and actions of industry and government. My grandmother Christine Holland gave us specific directions to protect our lands – that is exactly what we intend to do,” says hereditary chief Knedebeas - Warner William.

The resurrected regulatory regime will give power to the ‘Unist’ot’en people to manage their lands unimpeded by institutions or agencies who have previously assumed
jurisdiction or authority over their traditional lands.

“It is time for the Governments of Canada and B.C. to start honoring our traditional governance system of the ‘Unist’ot’en Chiefs. We have never ceded or surrendered our territory. Distruction of forest, waters, and wildlife will no longer be tolerated. True meaningful consultation must start taking place regarding all our territory,” says spokes person Freda Huson.

The rally also provided the ‘Unist’ot’en with an opportunity to offer support to the allies who have come in to support this action. The Tsilhqot’in Nation members from Tl’etinqox (Anaham) and Tl’esqox are asserting their rights to stop a proposed plans for Prosperity Mine to develop a copper and gold body that will destroy and drain a sacred lake called Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in their traditional territories. The Lubicon Cree of central Alberta are working at having their rights and title asserted on unceded lands. The Athabasca Dene and Mikisew Cree of Northeastern Alberta are fighting for their very lives with the ongoing Tar Sands contamination of their aquifers and ecosystems which are creating a deadly epidemic of rare cancers among their population.

With the help of some reputable Non-Governmental Organizations and Indigenous Peoples organizations such as the Indigenous Environmental Network, Rainforest Action Network, the Council of Canadians, Oil Sands Truth, and No One is Illegal, as well as many helpful and generous volunteers, the ‘Unis’to’t’en have erected a permenant camp on the Morice River to cease plans with all Oil and Gas Pipelines, including the KSL and Enbridge Gateway Projects, from traversing their lands and waterways. These proposed projects threaten the livelihood of the ‘Unist’ot’en people and the delicate ecosystems which they depend on and will be stopped by any means necessary.

For more information contact:

Freda Huson, spokesperson for the ‘Unist’ot’en people in the C’ilhts’ekhyu Clan. Any communication regarding ‘Unist’ot’en business will be brought to the attention of the new ‘Unist’ot’en company called Tse Wedi ‘Elh at: (778) 210-1100 or tsewedielh@explorenet.com

Knedebeas (Warner William), Hereditary Chief of the ‘Unist’ot’en. Home: (250) 847-3694, or Cell: (778) 210-1949

Monday, July 12, 2010

Today: Cindy Sheehan and Six More 'Peace Criminals' Go on Trial


Cindy Sheehan and Six More "Peace Criminals" Trial

Update: Subject: Sizzlin' Summer Protest Canceled due to profound lack of participation!
By Cindy Sheehan

Today, the POTA 3 were acquitted of charges of crossing a police line on March 20th--the 3: Cindy Sheehan, jim Veeder and Jon Gold were arrested on March 20th and spent 52 hours in jail. The trial was postponed from June 10 until July 12, today--Elaine Brower, Matthis Chiroux and LeFlora Cunningham-Walsh were convicted--more info about the trial later but Elaine, Matthis and Leflora ended up getting a 100 suspended fine and were released.

The stay away orders from the White House were lifted and POTA is going to go and bullhorn and protest tomorrow (July 13th), meeting at one.

After tomorrow's event, POTA will be shutting down Sizzlin' Summer actions due to lack of participation. There will be no more housing available at St. Stephen's Church.

POTA still believes that the only way to peace is through the people and will stay in contact with everyone to strategize about organizing for a better future antiwar movement.

Thanks for all of your support and work for peace and justice.

Love & Peace
Cindy Sheehan

Monday, July 12
By Peace of the Action
Photo by mobile upload: 'Cindy Sheehan: Outlaws at the Courthouse'

Attorney, Mark Goldstonehad this to say from Washington, DC as he is preparing for the trial.
"On Monday, July 12, Cindy Sheehan, Iraq Veteran Matthis Chiroux and 4 other activists will go on trial, before a Judge of the DC Superior Court. They face relatively minor charges, but their trial raises the public outrage that the war in Iraq still goes on after 7 years - and the US invasion of Afghanistan is approaching its 9th year. A broad range of citizens and activists gathered in Lafayette Park on Saturday, March 20, to protest the US Government's continuing wars in the Middle East - which only continue to destabilize the region, and to use America's precious economic resources."

Cindy Sheehan agreed from her home in Oakland, Ca and had this to add: "We 'Peace Criminals' feel that it is necessary to perform civil disobedience because our nation continues to slaughter innocent people, despite a change in administration. We have the absolute right to perform acts of peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience, and the police and government have zero right to stop us."

Six of the defendants already spent 52 hours in jail for infractions and expect to be exonerated on 1st Amendment Grounds.




PEACE OF THE ACTION is a 501c3 non-profit activist organization established with the goal of promoting the actionable awareness of, and the practical solutions for, a wide range of global challenges. We promote the use of Civil Resistance in reaching our goals.
http://peaceoftheaction.org/

Lawsuit: Interior Secretary Salazar and the Oil Industry

Contact: Kierán Suckling, (520) 275-5960

Lawsuit Seeks Release of Interior Secretary Salazar's Communications
With Oil Industry About Drilling


By Center for Biological Diversity

WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today sued Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for not turning over emails, phone logs and meeting notes documenting his interaction with oil-industry lobbyists since becoming secretary of the interior.
The Center requested the public documents on May 18 under the Freedom of Information Act to uncover the extent of oil-industry involvement in Salazar’s decisions to: expand offshore oil drilling on the Atlantic Coast, eastern Gulf Coast and Alaska in March; challenge a court order vacating BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling project before it began; and approve hundreds of other offshore leases and drilling plans in the Gulf of Mexico. In violation of the Freedom of Information Act, Salazar has not yet responded to the request or provided any documents.
“Secretary Salazar has been cozy with the offshore drilling lobby for many years. There is no question that BP and other oil companies were integral to his decisions to expand offshore oil drilling. We want to know who Salazar was talking to, what was said, and what deals were made,” said Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center.
“The Obama administration pledged to be open and transparent in its decision-making, but when it comes to meeting with oil industry lobbyists, this administration is as secretive as the Cheney-Bush White House,” said Suckling.
The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeks an immediate response to whether the government will release the information sought and prompt disclosure of the requested records.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Lakota Debra White Plume: Radioactive Sacrifice Area



Keep Out! Radioactive Sacrifice Area

by Debra White Plume, Oglala Lakota Author, Artist, Activist from the Beautiful Pine Ridge Homeland


Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Photo: Bring Back the Way

http://www.bringbacktheway.com/default.htm


The human beings, who comprise Powertech USA, Inc., (PT) are embarking on a path of destruction from which there is no return, which we on the Plains must face for generations, while they reside far away in their homelands of Canada and France.


This new corporation has no history of accountability in adhering to environmental laws or in the cleanup of a mined-out area. According to the NRC website, there are thousands of reports by mining corporations that document problems in containing uranium-laden water to the mine site to be located in Custer and Fall River Counties, 12 miles northwest of Edgemont, SD. It is challenging to accept that a new corporation mining uranium in an area with thousands of improperly abandoned boreholes and fractured aquifers will have the capacity to contain the radioactive water it plans to pump to the surface through miles and miles of pipe. Pipe which, according to the NRC website, leaks!


Powertech’s planned Dewey-Burdock In Situ Leach mining will puncture through four aquifers and endanger a fragile geologic situation. PT knows of the thousands of uncapped boreholes in their mine permit area and the faults and fractures horizontally and vertically between aquifers through which groundwater can spread thorium, radium, arsenic and other contaminants disturbed with ISL mining. These metals can travel to contaminate clean drinking and surface water, which may eventually end up in the pipe that brings drinking water into our homes, or the garden hose that waters our family gardens. Arsenic and alpha emitters make people sick. The history of earthquakes in the Black Hills makes ISL uranium mining even more dangerous.


Does PT have the finances to pay fines for leaks and spills that other corporations have had to pay (according to the NRC website), or to cleanup? It is not clear if PT has the resources to pay for cleaning up its mess.


PT’s uranium mining applications to the NRC and the SD Dept of Environment and Natural Resources were deemed inadequate. Rather than denying the applications, both entities helped revise PT’s applications. The fact that the corporation failed to complete a satisfactory application does not create confidence and makes one wonder about these governmental entities: are they here to look out for the well-being of people and the environment, or for the mining corporations?


The opportunity to view the public records of PT’s 6,000 page application as limited to Internet availability is prejudicial, it assumes that everyone has Internet access and eliminates untold members of the general public. Let me be clear, this practice impacts the most vulnerable: the poor and the isolated.


The Dewey-Burdock area is in 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty Territory and in a place sacred to the Lakota People: the Black Hills, The Heart of Everything That Is. The 1868 Ft Laramie Treaty was ratified by Congress and was never amended. Under international law it is our land.


Our ancestors fought the United States, many people died, to protect the Black Hills and our landbase. There are hundreds of places in the proposed mining area identified as archaeological, historical, cultural, etc. There are tipi rings, stone cairns, graves. There are nests there, for eagles which need protection. For a corporation to have more rights than human beings is a violation of Human Rights. To keep us away from a sacred place is to kill our people and way of life. What kind of government makes such laws? to turn this area into a “National Sacrifice Area”?


The laws of the United States, the NRC regulations, and the individuals who sit behind those desks can honor Treaty Law, the life way of the Lakota, and respect Mother Earth by denying Powertech USA, Inc.’s application to mine uranium. After PT has mined for 20 years, used billions of gallons of water, fouled our aquifers and land, and completed processing its Yellow Cake imported from Wyoming, the individuals on PT’s Board of Directors and its shareholders will remove the pumps that keep radioactive water “contained”, cap the deep disposal wells storing billions of gallons of radioactive waste, dismantle its buildings for shipment to a nuclear waste dump, lay off the handful of local employees, close its Hot Springs Office and enjoy their financial profit back in their home offices in Canada and France. The NRC staff will file away the paperwork of the Dewey-Burdock Uranium Mine. Will the file tab read, “South Dakota: Radioactive, Keep Out”?

Arizona Desert Claims Lives of 153 Human Beings

July 7, 2010/Contact Kat Rodriguez: 520.770.1373


Alarming Border Death Count Continues Unabated and Ignored: Arizona Recovered Remains Reach 153

By Derechos Humanos

ARIZONA -- The number of human remains recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border since October 1, 2009 has reached 153, reports the Tucson-based Coalición de Derechos Humanos. The data is comprised of medical examiner reports from Pima, Yuma, and Cochise counties, and is an attempt to reflect more accurately the human cost of brutal U.S. border and immigration policies.

While the U.S. body politics is engaged in a one-sided discussion around "security" and "enforcement," communities continue to witness tragedy and death on the U.S. - Mexico border. Rather than directly addressing this issue, politicians and most organizations have ignored it. Since 1995, when the first 14 deaths along the Arizona border occurred, Derechos Humanos has been a voice in the wilderness demanding justice. Fifteen years and more than 2,000 deaths later, there is no end in sight to the unnecessary carnage on the U.S.-México border.

The count to date includes ninety-eight (98) males, nineteen (19) females, and thirty-six (36) individuals of unknown gender. The identities of approximately one hundred seven (107) of the recovered individuals remain unknown, which is approximately 69.9% of the total recovered thus far this fiscal year. This number is a 22.4% increase from last year, when the total of recovered remains as of June 30, 2009 was one hundred twenty-five (125). Approximately thirty-six (36), or 23.5% of the remains were skeletal.

'Unknown gender' indicates that not enough of a body was recovered to determine gender, and without DNA, which is costly, it is impossible to know even this basic information about the individual, making identification and return to their families even more difficult. The dramatic increase in these unknown gender cases are a troubling indicator of what might be to come as people are pushed out into more and more isolated areas, making rescue and detection less likely and death more certain. It is unknown how many remains are currently near the border but have not yet been discovered.

The continued increase in the recovery of skeletal remains indicates that more and more individuals are being funneled into more isolated and desolate terrain of the Arizona-Sonora border. This "Funnel Effect," which has been documented by the Binational Migration Institute, has shown that the practice of sealing traditional crossing points ultimately pushes migration into the deadliest areas. The extent of this crisis is not known as the numbers of human remains recovered in neighboring states are not available.

We call on this Administration and this Congress to respond to their first responsibility as human beings, and call for an end to policies that violate basic human rights and dignity. It is time for a meaningful and honest dialogue on migration and our responsibilities, with most critical question: Will the deaths continue?

While these deaths and the policies that fuel them are unconscionable, we are deeply saddened to see the calluses that have grown on the hearts of those that continue to ignore such suffering. We must remember that we are all human beings, brothers and sisters who must share the earth, and the death and abuse of the least of us will eventually hurt us all.


The complete list of recovered remains 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.



###





Coalición de Derechos Humanos
P.O. Box 1286 Tucson, AZ 85702
Tel: 520.770.1373
Fax: 520.770.7455
www.derechoshumanosaz.net

Monday, July 5, 2010

Boulder: Indigenous Leaders to Speak at Unreasonable Institute on Native Entrepreneurship in Boulder

Contacts: Daniel Rosen, (201) 207-9273 and Gabriel Yaiva, (928)699-9601
www.unreasonableinstitute.org, danielrosen928@gmail.com


Indigenous Leaders to speak at Unreasonable Institute this week on Native entrepreneurship
Press statement

BOULDER -- Twenty-two leading social-entrepreneurs, haling from 15 countries, with innovative businesses are working, living, and eating together for 10 weeks at the Unreasonable Institute. They are working on businesses that have a social purpose -- something that will be both profitable and work within markets and that will also change the world.

On Friday, July 9th, The Unreasonable Institute will be hosting 5 leading Indigenous entrepreneurs to speak on building sustainable enterprises on reservations and what it means to be a Native social-entrepreneur. The community is welcome to attend (information below)

"We are so excited for the opportunity to host these inspiring leaders," Daniel Epstein, Founding President of Unreasonable said. He continued, "The issues facing Native America are similar to that facing the developing world and these leaders are offering promising sustainable innovations right here in our backyard."

Often when we think of social entrepreneurs, we think of people working in communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, on pressing social challenges.

Yet within the United States, there are communities that have living conditions similar to developing nations. Many Native American tribes have great challenges in economic development (high rates of unemployment, unmet development needs, and reliance on industries that impact their people negatively). Some communities still lack basic amenities such as running water and electricity. There are an estimated 2.1 million Native Americans, and according to census numbers, are the poorest of any ethnic group.

And still, there is a history of resistance, persistence, adaptation, and survival. And there are leaders who continue this tradition and are building a new paradigm.

"It's time to shift the story," said Gabriel Yaiva (Dine/Hopi) of 4th World Entertainment, "It's time to go from looking at our situation as problems and looking at the abundance of opportunities and blessings. Native America can be a seat of innovative thinking and projects."

These leaders are creating opportunities for their people and for the world and turning their lands that were once left for sacrifice, into the sacred lands of the new economy -- places where innovation, creativity, and hope flourish. The panelists will be presentation about Native business today and highlight some successes and failures of their own. They will also be sharing their personal stories and how they came to be where they are today. These stories will inspire anyone who attends.

Kelvin Long and Gabriel Yaiva are young Navajo/ Hopi social entrepreneurs. Having founded successful businesses in hip-hop, green business, and other industries, both have led campaigns to protect sacred sites, their land, and culture. They will be joined by Tony Skrelunas, who is former director of Economic Development for the Navajo tribe and is considered a premier business leader in Indian Country. Additionally, Gordon Isaac and Derrick Terry, two leading green housing specialists and builders in Native America, who are leading the way in sustainable housing and renovation, will be presenting as well. The leaders speak internationally and reside in Northern Arizona.

The Unreasonable Institute’s Native Entrepreneur Panel will be July 9th from 3:00pm to 4:30pm at the
Unreasonable Institute, which is located at 1715 Aurora St, Boulder, Co.

The event is co-sponsored by Mosaic Ventures, one of the projects of the Summer Institute.
Additional sponsorship was made possible by Intersector Partner

For more information about the presenters: www.nativeworldnetwork.org

For more information about the Unreasonable Institute:
25 Brilliant Entrepreneurs with ventures in 17 countries under one roof = World's most Unreasonable TV series (http://unreasonable.tv/)

Texas Tour: Flotilla Survivors Tell Their Stories, July 6 -- 14, 2010


TEXAS TOUR TO END THE SIEGE OF GAZA


Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 6:00pm through Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 10:00pm
Location: Dallas, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston
FREEDOM FLOTILLA SURVIVORS TELL THEIR STORIES!


Photo: Relatives embrace over a coffin wrapped in a Turkish flag. Nine activists were killed in the Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, including an American, Furkan Dogan, 19. (Mustafa Ozer / AFP/Getty Images / June 3, 2010)


Former US Diplomat, Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright and Navy veteran and USS Liberty survivor, Joe Meadors with special guest appearance in Dallas by Three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Kathy Kelly, to kick off the tour!

Flotilla Survivors Tell Their Stories

Tuesday, July 6, DALLAS:

END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
Ann Wright, Joe Meadors, and Kathy Kelly

Unity Church of Dallas, 6525 Forest Lane, Dallas, TX
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
6:30 p.m. - Reception; 7:00 p.m. - Program
Suggested donation -- $10
Sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center; co-sponsored/supported by Code Pink Greater Dallas,
Code Pink Ft. Worth, North Texas Veterans for Peace, Peace Action Denton, North Texas BDS
For more info, contact www.dallaspeacecenter.org or 214-823-7793 or
Contact Leslie Harris


Wednesday, July 7, WACO:

GAZA FLOTILLA SURVIVORS TELL THEIR STORIES
Ann Wright and Joe Meadors

Poppa Rollo's Pizza, Westbank meeting room,
703 N. Valley Mills Drive, Waco
6:00 p.m. - pizza and announcements
6:30 - lecture and discussion
Sponsored by Waco Friends of Peace
Contact Alan Northcutt


Thursday, July 8 - Saturday, July 11:

Ann and Joe will be attending the
National Convention of the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)
Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas
www.ivaw.org

Sunday, July 11, Austin:

GAZA FREEDOM FLOTILLA ATTACK: A REPORT FROM SURVIVORS
Ann Wright and Joe Meadors

University of Texas, MEZ 1.306 (Mezes Hall)
Sunday, July 11, 5:00 p.m.
UT campus map: http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/mez.html
Free and open to the public. Donations will support the tour.
Sponsored by the UT Palestine Solidarity Committee utpalestine. org
and CodePink Austin www.codepinkaustin. com.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=106858999366619&ref=ts
Contact Fran Hanlon

Monday, July 12, San Antonio:

GAZA FREEDOM FLOTILLA SURVIVORS TELL THEIR STORIES!
Ann Wright and Joe Meadors
Location and time TBA
Sponsored by the San Antonio Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Texans for Peace
Contact Alyssa Burgin

Tuesday, July 13, Corpus Christi:

“We sailed to Gaza and broke through the Siege; Take a Stand”
Ann Wright and Joe Meadors
A & M Student Center, Oso Room #221, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas
Tuesday, July 13; 6:30 p.m. - Reception; 7 p.m. - Program
Contact: Ann Smith

Wednesday, July 14, Houston:

MEMBERS OF RECENT FREE GAZA FLOTILLA TO SPEAK IN HOUSTON
Ann Wright and Joe Meadors

Dominican Sisters Meeting Hall
Enter at St. Dominic Archdiocesan Center, 2401-2409 Holcombe
Wednesday, July 14, 7:15 p.m.
Purchase tickets online at www.HPJC.org or pay at the door; $15, students $5
Proceeds go to future US - Gaza freedom flotilla
Sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Code Pink Houston, Harris County Green Party, Houston Peace and Justice Center, Dominican Sisters of Houston, Mardell Bridge Group/Justice for Palestinians
Contact: Madeleine Crozat-Williams

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Residential School Survivor: Queen of England took 10 children away

Saturday, July 3, 2010
Breaking News: This weekend, protestors in Winnipeg and Toronto will confront Elizabeth Windsor, aka "Queen of England", with an unanswered letter asking that she identify the fate of aboriginal children under her care:
THE STRANGE STORY OF THE QUEEN AND THE CHILDREN WHO 'DISAPPEARED'

Thursday, 01 April 2010 11:08

Signed statement by survivor witness followed by copy of letter already given to the Queen in January, 2008 by residential school survivors in Canada.

Statement of William Arnold Combes

I am an Interior Salish spirit dancer and am 58 years old. I live in Vancouver, Canada.

I am a survivor of the Kamloops and Mission Indian residential schools, both run by the Roman Catholic church. I suffered terrible tortures there at the hands especially of Brother Murphy, who killed at least two children. I witnessed him throw a child off a three story balcony to her death. He put me on a rack and broke some of my bones, in the Kamloops school basement, after I tried running away.

I also saw him and another priest burying a child in the school orchard one night.

In September 1964 when I was 12 years old, I was an inmate at the Kamloops school and we were visited by the Queen of England and Prince Phillip. I remember it was strange because they came by themselves, no big fanfare or nothing. But I recognized them and the school principal told us it was the Queen and we all got given new clothes and good food for the first time in months the day before she arrived.

The day she got to the school, I was part of a group of kids that went on a picnic with the Queen and her husband and school officials, down to a meadow near Dead Man's Creek. After awhile, I saw the Queen leave that picnic with ten children from the school, and those children never returned. We never heard anything more about them and never saw them again even when we were older. They were all from around there but they all vanished.

The group that disappeared was seven boys and three girls, in age from six to fourteen years old. I don't remember their names, just an occasional first name like Cecilia and there was an Edward.

What happened was also witnessed by my friend George Adolph, who was 11 years old at the time and a student there too.

____________ _________ __
William Arnold Combes
(signed and witnessed in the original)

February 3, 2010
Vancouver, Canada

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ------
Media Advisory:

Queen of England Issued a Letter of Demand, Possible Lawsuit by Indian Residential School Survivors

Evening of Thursday, January 24, 2008
Unceded Squamish Territory ("Vancouver, Canada")

Elizabeth Windsor, the Queen of England, was issued a Letter of Demand yesterday that requires that she identify the fate and burial sites of all the children who died in Indian Residential Schools established under the authority of the Church of England and the British Crown.

The Letter was handed personally to Governor-General Michaelle Jean by aboriginal elder Carol Martin at the Downtown Eastside Womens' Centre in Vancouver in the afternoon of Wednesday, January 23. Ms. Martin asked the Governor-General to deliver the Letter of Demand to the Queen on behalf of residential school survivors, and the Governor-General accepted the Letter and assured her that she would.

As a Common Law Notice, the Letter requires that the Queen comply with the request to identify the grave sites and cause of death of these children within thirty days, or face possible legal action.

"The buck stops at Buckingham Palace" commented another aboriginal elder and residential school survivor. "The Queen, and the Pope, are the ones responsible for the genocide their government and churches did to my people. She has to be held accountable. She has the power to help bring our children home, finally."

In recent weeks, similar Letters of Demand have been issued to officials of the Canadian government and the Catholic, Anglican and United Church of Canada by residential school survivors. Karl Ratzinger, Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, is scheduled to be issued a similar Letter of Demand soon.

A national press conference to announce the next stage in this Truth Campaign will be held on Monday, February 4 at 10:00 am outside the Prime Minister's Office at 80 Wellington street in Ottawa. Organizer Kevin Annett (Eagle Strong Voice) will be present at this event.

For more information contact:

The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
(Chief Louis Daniels, Anishinabe Nation, Patron)
c/o 1-888-265-1007 (pager) or:
hiddenfromhistory@ yahoo.ca
Public Notice
Letter of demand from the Elders and Members of the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
23rd January 2008
To: Elizabeth Windsor, aka "Queen of Great Britain"
Buckingham Palace
London, England
(Transmitted through the office and person of Michaelle Jean, Governor-General of Canada)


Dear Ms. Windsor,


This Public Letter of Demand is issued to you, Elizabeth Windsor, as one who claims the title and fiduciary responsibility of Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, and Head of the Church of England in Canada, aka the Anglican Church.


We, as the friends and relatives of tens of thousands of children who died or were murdered in Indian Resedential Schools in canada established and run by your Church of England and the British Crown from 1867 to 1996, do hereby demand that you, Elizabeth Windsor, in your capacity of Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, and head of the Church of England, publicly disclose the cause of death and whereabouts of the buried remains, of all children who died in Indian Residential Schools operated by the Church of England in Canada, aka the Anglican Church.


This Common law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor. arrange the immediate repatriation without conditions of the remains of thesen persons to their holes for a proper burial.


This Common Law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor, publicly name and surrender all persons in or employed by the Government of Canada and the Anglican Church who are responsible for or complicit in these deaths and disappearances, and all documents and evidence related to the same.


This Common Law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor, compel Canada through its Governor-General to comply with these requirements of natural justice and international law.


If you, Elizabeth Windsor, fail to comply with these requirements within thirty(30) days of you recieving this notice through the medium of the Governor-General of Canada, it will be assumed that you do not dispute these claims contained herein, and legal action may be commenced against you.


Sincerely
Jeremiah Jourdain
on behalf of the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
isssued under the Tribal Land Law Juristiction of the Squamish Nation on unceded Squamish Territory

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Censored News is published by censored journalist Brenda Norrell. A journalist for 27 years, Brenda lived on the Navajo Nation for 18 years, writing for Navajo Times, AP, USA Today, Lakota Times and other American Indian publications. After being censored and then terminated by Indian Country Today in 2006, she began the Censored Blog to document the most censored issues. She currently serves as human rights editor for the U.N. OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague and contributor to Sri Lanka Guardian, Narco News and CounterPunch. She was cohost of the 5-month Longest Walk Talk Radio across America, with Earthcycles Producer Govinda Dalton in 2008: www.earthcycles.net/
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