CENSORED NEWS

at 6:27 PM

Peltier writes from prison, with message from Ben Carnes

By Ben Carnes
To my friends, families and allies:
The following is a recently released statement from Leonard Peltier that I hope you will circulate widely. Also please subscribe to the listserve to get immediate updates and encourage your friends.
I also want to ask you if you would consider helping me with doing research on the Internet in regards to Peltier. There is a lot of information that we need to collect: Leonard's past statements, media and celebrity contacts, county/state/federal officials who have expressed support for Peltier and how to contact them.
If you are willing to help me with this, please reply and I’ll place you in a group so that everyone can get more done quickly and I’ll wade through the information.
We are approaching a critical point in Leonard's campaign, and we will need massive support from around the world. So any volunteer help is going to appreciated. We have a website under construction, and we would want everyone to know when we change over. Also, there is an important event (Feb. 6th) in Boulder,CO for Peltier on the 33rd year of his capture in Canada. Chief Leonard Crow Dog and LP DOC members, Betty Ann Peltier-Solano, Kari Ann Cowan (Leonards sister & niece, respectively), David Hill and myself. The Leonard Peltier Branch Support in Boulder, along with other student organizations is hosting this event.
There is also a noon rally at the courthouse, followed by a meeting for committee members to finalize the presentation of their strategy to free Leonard. This is it and we will need EVERYONE to help us. I believe that once you see the pattern and focus of our strategy, you will see the importance in joining a “Final Offensive” in this 33 year long campaign. Hope to hear from many of you. In the Spirit of freedom, Ben Carnes
LP-DOC bcarnes@whoisleonardpeltier.info
--------------------------------
STATEMENT FROM PELTIER: A Hero’s welcome (1/31/2009)
By Leonard Peltier

I want to thank each and everyone of you for your efforts in my urgent time of need, you cannot imagine how much my spirit has been lifted from the cards and letters, the phone calls and how everyone kept up the pressure. My gratitude is really more than I can express.
My return to Lewisburg was met like a hero’s welcome, and many people came to assure me of my safety there. It is so ironic that the prisoners in a federal maximum-security prison can guarantee my safety, but the Bureau of Prisons will not. I did not say, “cannot”, but “will not” do so. You have to remember the BOP is a little brother to the FBI and they came from an illegitimate mother called the JUST-US (Justice) Department.
Do I sound a little angry? Well, I am angry that many of my friends have died in assuring my survival while I’ve been in prison. All the men who were involved in my escape at Lompoc, all died mysteriously soon after: Dallas Thundershield at Lompoc, Bobby Garcia at Terre Haute, and Rocky Duenas, whose body was never recovered. And Standing Deer, he gave away his life when he revealed the assassination plot against me. He lived under the shadow of death for years, waiting to be killed for defying the government, until he was eventually paroled to Texas. He was murdered soon after the same person who contracted him to have me assassinated warned him about his involvement with my campaign. Surviving this attack brought back memories of those losses, and it is with tears of more gratitude in my eyes and in my heart that no one died this time. I don’t ever want to lose another brother in protecting me; a human life is precious and important.
I know in other countries, prisoners who have been held by their government have been placed in house arrest after they have attained international support as I have. If the BOP cannot guarantee my safety to the extent the prisoners here can, then I demand to be returned to my nation, Turtle Mountain, where I can be assured of my safety!
Turtle Mountain has issued a resolution to transfer me into their custody, and they have asked to meet with Obama on a nation-to-nation basis. This has to happen and it will when a lot of energy is placed behind it. In the past 18 days your efforts brought me out of the hole and to where there is a measure of safety.
The FBI has said that I will never leave prison alive, and we should not accept that as an idle threat. There have been a few times that my life was targeted by the FBI in the 33 years since my capture, and each of those who have helped me to survive are now dead. The transfer and attack at Canaan is just a warning to me of what is to come. The warden’s know of the psychological make-up of their inmate population in their prison, and they clearly knew that placing someone who is well known, as I am, with connections to many famous people and at my age, I would be subject to predatory attacks. This was deliberate by the BOP, and as far as the motivation for the attack, it could have been ordered by any prison official at the request of the FBI, or someone trying to curry favor from the feds. It could have also been a tactic to beat me into submission for purposes of extortion or something as stupid as trying to make a reputation.
We know they are afraid and Trimbach’s smear letter support that. They see pressure, in the form of your letters and calls, growing and they know that my committee has been tirelessly developing plans to set up a wave of activity. The FBI is now afraid that they will fail to keep me falsely imprisoned. We are becoming stronger and we must keep building our network to succeed.
I am proud of the brother’s & sisters, the Elder’s and my family who make up the committee; they have all personally sacrificed more than many people may ever know. It is humbling when I hear about the difficulties they have had due to being associated with me, but they do not quit. They are putting in many hours of their lives that they could be spending with their own families, but I hear they are on the phones talking to people, writing letters, and networking through the computers. They have been criticized by a few people and have attempted to create divisions within the committee through spreading accusations about them. So let me say this, I know the people I have invited to serve on my committee, and I’ve known most of them for years. A couple of them are my Sun Dance brothers and I have entrusted my life in their abilities and their commitment to bring about my freedom. The decision I have made to place them in their positions of responsibility is mine, not the critics. I ask all my supporters to ignore those who would have you waste your time listening to or reading petty gossip based upon jealousy or personal dislike. These are activities that the FBI uses to destroy a movement, and they are not the Indian way of doing things. So we need to be aware that those who are bad-mouthing my committee, and talking behind their backs to smear them, may be infiltrators sent by the feds to tear down the committee. Watch out for those people and make some distance from them.
I am also asking all of my supporters and allies to follow the directions of the committee when the plans and strategies are presented at the Feb. 6th event in Boulder, CO. It had begun as an educational event and now it will be a very important event because of everything that has happened recently. We had wanted to release it when Obama was sworn in, but my transfer placed it on hold. I am a believer that nothing happens by accident or coincidence. It all happens for a reason, and it feels as if things are coming together the way they should. It is significant that an intense campaign will be begin after 33 years in captivity and with a newly elected President who could be receptive to my clemency appeal in office.
We will be making our message stronger in what we do and in how we will do it. I cannot stress how important it will be to increase our numbers after this event because the committee members, spokespersons, and their families will be making more personal sacrifices to help increase awareness. They’ll need your support in organizing other events and networking in your area.
Again, I want to thank everyone who wrote, called and emailed. My hand in appreciation is extended to those who have held rallies and protests on my behalf to call attention to the attack on me. I also extend my gratitude to Cynthia McKinney, former congresswoman for her recent letter to President Obama urging him to free other political prisoners and myself.
In all these years, there have been so many people who have prayed for my safety and freedom from all faiths. There is power in those prayers and that is what I know will bring about my freedom. I can feel something different this time, and many others have expressed the same thought to me. So when you pray, don’t pray only for me, but the warriors of AIM who have died for our people, the victims of the “Reign of Terror” on Pine Ridge, and other victims who has suffered as we have. Pray for their families as well. They must not be forgotten and they must have justice!
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Dallas Thundershield, Bobby Garcia, Rocky Duenas, Standing Deer, and in The Spirit of Total Resistance,

Leonard Peltier

at 11:24 AM

Tohono O'odham living in the most desperate poverty ask: 'Where are the casino millions going?'

Tohono O'odham youths, pushed to the breaking point by the US military and Tohono O'odham police, too often have to choose between jail, hunger and leaving their homeland

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

Every week, Tohono O'odham friends call and say they have no money, no money for food, no money to heat their homes at night and no money for their elderly parents.
Every week, Tohono O'odham friends ask where are the millions going from the Tohono O'odham casinos. The crowds overflow at the Tohono O'odham's Desert Diamond Casino on the edge of Tucson, while the Tohono O'odham people continue to live in the most desperate poverty. It only takes a drive across Tohono O'odham land to see what is happening and what is not happening, in regards to poverty.
Now, a new $550 million casino is in the plans:
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/biz-topheadlines/278119.php
Where are the millions going? The Tohono O'odham Legislative Council has long been able to oppress its people with the heavy arm of Homeland Security, the National Guard and Tohono O'odham police.
Now, the militarization is worse. Tohono O'odham are stopped constantly without provocation and threatened and intimidated by US military, Border Patrol, federal agents and Tohono O'odham police.
Tohono O'odham youths, pushed to the breaking point by the US militarization and police, too often have to choose between jail, hunger and leaving their homeland.
The Tohono O'odham Council does not allow outside reporters into its chambers for council sessions. In northern Arizona, the Navajo Nation Council welcomes press and even provides copies of resolutions. That does not happen in the Tohono O'odham Council chambers. Outside reporters are told to leave. The best that reporters can hope for when asking questions is to have their lives threatened for asking questions.
With no accountability, the Tohono O'odham people say this crime against humanity continues.

at 10:11 AM

AKWESASNE MOHAWKS SHOO AWAY LAND GRABBERS

MOHAWK NATION NEWS
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

Jan. 28, 2009. The repossession of Haudenosaunee land is an on-going process. In the 1920s we repossessed “Tiokwaroton”, a six mile square area in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal. In 1957 we settled in the Mohawk Valley near Fonda New York where “Kahnawake” had existed long ago. We left when NYS started objecting to our presence because we knew our land issue did not belong in the colonial court system.
In 1974 the Mohawks of Kahnawake near Montreal were being squeezed on our land by the influx of many non-Ongwehonwe. They were coming in to illegally live in cheap housing which some of our people were renting to them. The people became alarmed at the high numbers that were arriving. They were beginning to crowd us out and trying to control us.
The traditional Longhouse people were asked to help evict these people. Eviction notices were handed out to the illegal tenants. The colonial “band council” supported by the Canadian government and the illegal tenants objected to the move. Canada and the band council sent in Quebec Police to instigate violence and divisions. Resistance ensued. The non-Ongwehonwe left. They knew they did not belong here.
Canada respected the Longhouse people who knew that Kahnawake is on Iroquois Confederacy territory under Kaianerehkowa, the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy. It was never surrendered and never a “reserve”. After the evictions the Minister of Indian Affairs Jean Chretien secretly proclaimed Kahnawake as a “reserve” without consultation, referendum or consent of the people. This violated international law. No state is allowed to absorb another without the free and informed consent of its people. The band council went along with it. In 1979 the people overwhelmingly voted to live according to the traditional form of governance.
The traditional people decided not to fight our own people. Some moved to another part of our Territory at Moss Lake in upper New York State. On May 13 1974 they resettled in a community called “Ganiengeh”. It was a Warrior’s Project which was sanctioned by all of the Confederacy.
Shortly thereafter the Grand Council of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois Confederacy, set up the “Land Rights Committee”. They passed a resolution for our people to find ways to get our lands back by “all means”. According to the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace, everybody and every nation has a duty to protect our lands. The Confederacy wanted strong advocates in the movement. Some of the appointees to the committee were writer, artist and historian, Louis Karonhiaktajeh Hall, Mad Bear Anderson, Beeman Logan and others. The movement gained support from other nations across Turtle Island and international support from Germany, Australia, England, France, Netherlands, African nations and the World Council of Churches.
One of our communities, Akwesasne, was usurped, piece-by-piece, until only a tiny portion remained as lands “reserved” for the Mohawks.
In 1763 the King of England issued a “Royal Proclamation” to forbid English colonies and British subjects from taking over any “Indian Lands” without a treaty with the King. The Confederacy knew this Proclamation was only for the colonists and their monarch. We could make agreements with anybody we wanted. They could not.
These proclamations and agreements between the European entities were used to steal and disperse Ongwehonwe wealth. The Revolutionary War created the “imaginary line” known as the U.S./Canada border that split Akwesasne. The northern portion was supposedly protected by the King. The southern portion was supposedly protected by the U. S. Constitution. The Jay Treaty of 1794 was a trade agreement between the colonies. We were not part of it.
The Europeans asked the Kanionkehaka of Akwesasne to let them use some of our lands for temporary settlement. At the time, Akwesasne extended eastward to Lake Champlain in Vermont, and toward Watertown to the west. It ran from the St. Lawrence River well into the Adirondack Mountains to the south. In the center of Akwesasne is a one mile square piece which was leased by New York State. It contains the town of Hogansburg. This is where the Raquette River and the St. Regis River flow into the St. Lawrence River. Today the principal east-west highway 37 runs through the middle, intersecting with the principal road to St. Regis Village.
In 1817 Michael Hogan, a wealthy former Irish ship captain, a member of the NYS Assembly, later a judge and Member of Congress in 1830, leased our land and water at Hogansburg. NYS named the town after him. It wasn’t made with the people of Akwesasne, the Mohawk Nation or the Confederacy. The two “indentures of lease” of October 20 and 23 were sanctioned and confirmed by the NYS Legislature, who had no authority to do this. Hogan was to pay an annual rent of $305 to the Mohawk. It could be renewed upon the same terms.
In 1824 NYS stated that the Mohawks had sold Hogansburg to them for $1, with an annual payment of $305 “in perpetuity”. William Hogan then magically acquired the deed from NYS. When the lease was finished, the Mohawks refused to renew it. Instead of returning the land to the owners, New York State started to illegally sell it off to non-Ongwehonwe. A few buyers tried to cash in by reselling it to outside developers for millions of dollars.
The Mohawk people decided to repossess our land. This was done. No one opposed this. It is now being resettled by the Mohawk People, who are determined to ensure their children, grandchildren and future generations have sufficient land to raise their families.
Illegal leases issued by colonial governments is an ongoing problem that requires constant vigilance. The land was validly repossessed because there was no agreement allowing the state to squat on our land. The lands belong to the nation, not to individuals. The situation here is the same on all parts of Turtle Island. That’s why the settler society refuses to study documented history.
MNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Kanionkehaka Kaianerehkowa Kanonhsesne, Jan. 21, 2009. 514-269-1400.
Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “Akwesasne” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php
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at 7:20 PM

By Tia Oros Peters
Photo of Jim Main, Sr, at home by Brenda Norrell

Dear Seventh Generation Fund Relatives and Friends,

With a heavy heart I share with you the news of Jim Main Sr., (Gros Ventre) passing to the Spirit World. As many of you may remember Jim Main, he was a steadfast and unrelenting warrior for Indigenous Peoples and especially for our homelands and sacred sites. In fact, his words and guidance helped inform our Sacred Sites Protection Campaign – including our memorable person Sacred Earth Summit in 2001 in Seattle, WA, and again, in 2002 in San Diego, CA.

A member of the White Clay Society, Jim was a treasured leader to Seventh Generation Fund for many years. He will be sorely missed by our organization. We trusted Jim. We were honored when he attended our convenings and shared his great wisdom, wit, and generous spirit. He taught us through his conduct and his dedication. We looked to him often to help us. And, he was always generous.

Jim was a true and consistent warrior, to be sure. And, as such, he was also a gracious, kind, thoughtful and honorable leader that set for us a clear pathway of how to continue work on behalf of our respective peoples.

Jim would be so pleased to know of recent sacred sites victories in places like Panhe in California, and just a couple of days ago in Zuni, New Mexico. It would have been great to march with him in Redding, in the struggle to protect Hatchet Mountain (Pit River Country) from (so-called green) windmills that will damage a sacred area, and severely impact golden and bald eagle habitat. He knows, where he is now in the other world, that we will continue the good fight for our peoples. Today, in mourning, and reflecting on how much we have learned from Jim Main Sr., we carry forward – heavy hearted but as determined as ever to strive, to fight, to honor our ancestors, as he did.

It is always so hard when we lose one of our elders. The world seems that much emptier, bigger, more difficult to travel through. Jim’s presence meant a great deal to so many of our community and projects. SGF sincerely hopes that our work continues to carry forth the great legacy and integrity of Jim Main Sr., a warrior of character, determination, and outstanding leadership. On behalf of our organization, board, staff and the Indigenous communities we serve throughout the Indigenous World, I extend a heartfelt condolence to Jim’s family, community and Nation.
May he be in peace.
All Our Relations,
Tia --Tia Oros Peters, Executive Director, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Development, Office Ph: 707-825-7640 x111 http://www.7genfund.org/
Supporting Social, Environmental and Cultural Justice for 32 Years (1977 – 2009)

In memory of Jim Main, Sr., the following interview is posted, written while I visited with him and his family at home, on Gros Ventre land two years ago. Sincere condolences to his family. Jim was a true warrior, arising with courage in his lifelong fight for the people, Brenda Norrell

In Montana, Indians are guilty until proven innocent
By Brenda Norrell

HAYS, Montana – James Main, Sr., Gros-Ventre and longtime advocate of Indian rights, said some conditions have improved for American Indians in Montana, particularly the treatment of Indians by government officials. Ranchers in north-central Montana often get along well with
Indian cowboys.
However, the treatment of Indians by the Montana Justice System has not improved its treatment of Indian people.
"We've got a long way to go with the Justice system. I'd like to see a handful of radical attorneys come over here and shake this place up, attack the system," Main said.
Main, known internationally as a voice for Indigenous Peoples, now in poor health following open-heart surgery, has a personal view of the state system.
James Sr. laughs remembering how Bill Means said Jim Jr. should be a comedian because of his impersonations of John Wayne and others. Jim Jr. was the caregiver of his mother, Vernie White Cow Main, who lives on the homesite where she was born on Big Warm Creek on the Fort Belknap Nation.
James Sr. said, "Jim took care of her. He almost had to be a nurse for six months. He trained himself to take care of her."
James Sr. spent his life traveling for Indigenous rights, helping those who needed him. "I decided to do some good," he said of his decision to live a life in service to humankind.
"I learned a lot about different people and different cultures. I never knew there were other Indians in California. I thought John Wayne got them all," James Sr. joked.
"It's good to travel, travel around."
Seated at home in the community of his childhood at Hays, James Sr. is surrounded by memories and the passing of time.
"I don't know how long I'm going to last. I have got a lot of people praying for me. These Mayan Indians went up on a pyramid in Guatemala.
It must have been a very powerful ceremony. I knew; it was in my mind."
On his living room wall, there is a huge poster of a Gros Ventre man. It reads, "Sits on High, EK-GIB-TSA-ATSKE, of the White Clay People A'AH'NI NIN."
James Sr. looks at the poster and says, "He did what they wanted him to do, settle down. Then, they took his land."
Speaking about those who took the land here, rich in gold, water and forests, he says, "They make a fortune and they die."
These days, James Sr. teaches his grandsons the philosophy that he has lived by. It is the philosophy of pride, self-esteem and honoring the culture.
"Go back to your old ways, traditions and culture. That is what I teach my grandsons. Try to get the language back," he adds. There are only a handful of speakers left.
James Sr. remembers the harsh years at St. Paul's Mission School.
During second grade, when the children went to pray during Christmas mass, the nuns told them Santa Claus would come if they had been good.
If not, there would be willow switches waiting. When they returned, they expected presents and instead found a stack of willow switches. There was also writing on the blackboard.
"I recognized the writing. It was a priest's, telling us how bad we were."
The little children were often beaten. James Sr. remembers, "They would slap us around for nothing."
Remembering his father Tom Main, James Sr. said, "He was a humanitarian, a real leader. He did things for nothing. He could have amassed a fortune, but he didn't."
James Sr. said Tom Main served as an interpreter at a time when few White Clay People spoke English. Tom served on the executive committee of the National Congress of American Indians.
"I learned a lot from him, he was honest to a fault," Jim Sr. said of his father.
"We had a pretty rough upbringing, we were poor and we had to haul water a long way. We burned wood, so we had to saw wood. My mother used to wash on Saturdays, all we did all day long was haul water."
James Sr. grew up with three brothers and four sisters. Today, all of his brothers are living and the oldest is 86. He served in the Air Force in Japan and was there when the Korean War began in 1950.
James Sr. also worked in the copper mines for 15 years. "That's where there was never racism, a melting pot."
The happiest days of his life were spent during his high school years. "We rode horseback, we rode bucking horses; there were lots of wild horses. We had powwows during the holidays, I really enjoyed those. We had bone games, hand games, we would sing songs and have a guessing game. We tried to guess whose hand the bone was in."
The men and women played each other. Kumeyaay have similar games, he said. During their travels, both Jim Sr. and Jim Jr. earned the respect of Indian people.
Read entire article:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/11/in-montana-indians-are-guilty-until.html
From Indigenous Environmental Network: Jim Main Sr., elder and warrior was an intregal part in the founding and creation of IEN, and was a long term National Council member for IEN. He was also a member of the International Indigenous Treaty Council and the Grand Governing Council of the American Indian Movement. His teachings of wisdom and the memory of his humor and traditional songs will stay with us.Ga-a-woo-wuss (Coyote Bear), a.k.a. James Main, Sr., of the White Clay Nation died peacefully in his sleep at approximately 4:30 a.m. on January 29, 2009. His hard-fought battle with End-Stage Congestive Heart Failure over the past several years finally took its toll about two weeks ago. Like a true warrior, he did not go down easily, but went with honor and dignity. To the end, he maintained his humor, making those around him laugh…and cry as he used his dwindling strength to sing, talk Indian, pray, and tell of old times. Always at the center of his heart and spirit was the survival of the Red Nations. It is an overwhelmingly sad day for his loved ones here on earth, but truly a victorious day for a warrior who is so deserving of the peace, love, and acceptance he will meet as all our relatives take him to his rightful place in the spirit world, known as the “Big Sands” to the White Clay people.Wake services will be held Saturday, January 31 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at his residence in Hays, Montana.
Traditional services will be held Sunday, February 1 at 1:00 p.m. followed by burial at the family cemetary in Big Warm, Montana.

If you would like to make a contribution to the family at this time -
Please Contact: Rose Main: 406.390.5350 (mobile), 406.673.3013 (home)
James Main, Sr.'s residence: 406.673.3813
William "Snuffy" Main: 406.945.7349
Harold "Jiggs" Main: 406.262.3041

at 4:27 PM

Wimpy Montreal cops seek god-like status – anti-insult laws to protect their tender egos

MOHAWK NATION NEWS

Jan. 29, 2009. Montreal police want the city to give the cops the right to crack down on “insult-hurling” citizens “with a blow to their pocketbooks” or cooling our heels in a jail cell. They don’t’ want to be called "pigs" and "doughnut-eaters" anymore! They want us to salute them and lick their boots. We’re worried that some insulters could get jail time in the “Swearor’s Prison” in Old Montreal. British Police are already enforcing this law even though it’s not on the books. Photos of police harassing the public is going to be a crime there.
Mayor Tremblay and Chief-Insp. Paul Chablo of the Montreal Police force are seriously thinking about it. It’s probably a go since you can’t fight city hall. They haven’t mentioned what hapless people can do about the insults and disrespect we have to endure at the hands of their bureaucrats and agents. What about the names, assaults, tasering, obstruction and “accidental” killings we have to suffer in the name of law and order? They want to be able to commit all the atrocities with impunity and no complaint department.
We wonder whether they are going to be allowed to shoot us like that kid in the park? Wasn’t he playing chess? What’s this about? Are the police fishing for bigger payoffs to buy our peace? The city is always trying to find ways to make some quick cash.
Thank goodness they can’t punish us yet for giving them dirty looks, sticking out our tongue and our risky thoughts about them! With all the new surveillance technology, is that coming next?
Their excuse is they want to keep police interventions involving violent citizens from getting out of hand. We’ve seen them gleefully go after people, beat them to get a reaction and then arrest and brutalize them.
The Great Law of our people says the “Royaner” must have a thick skin to deal with issues. It is well known that people who are frustrated often express their feelings in words and are less likely to resort to weapons. There’s a good reason for the advice from elders that, “sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me”. It would make a lot more sense to train police to be desensitized to name calling and behave and respond in an upright manner. Why don’t they set up a soap box so we can call them names and tell them why we do it? This would be therapeutic for both sides. Or are these laws meant to condition us to get used to being controlled and enslaved?
In what language can the cops be insulted before it is a crime? Most of the cops in Montreal are French speaking. It is a good reason for learning Mohawk where we have colorful and accurate descriptions of the colonizers that are explanatory, not expletive.
The cops don’t need another discretionary weapon. They already engage in provocative and abusive behavior like stopping people for no reason, pushing them around and threatening them with fines and penalties.
It all depends on one’s budget. Are they going to put out a list of swear words and the amounts of the fines attached? Calling them pigs could be a small fine. But calling them “f---ing pieces of foreign dog s—t” could be more! If we call them “f--king cop”, this might mean he knows how to make his girlfriend happy. But if we call him a “mother f--king cop”, then, if there’s supporting evidence, whose going to lay the charge?
Under the common law there is a principle “nule criminen sin legge”. Nothing is a crime unless there is a law against it.
It's questionable policy. Ronald Sklar, a McGill University law professor, said "There are … a lot of words that are border line. Insults are highly subjective." The police shouldn’t be any different than anybody else as far as insults go because it doesn't affect their ability to do their duty. If the cops shoot and kill one of our sons, will we be charged for screaming in agony and insulting them as an expression of fear and anger? Sklar said words can be punishable, but they must threaten bodily harm or incite disorder.
Montreal also wants to pass a motion to prohibit protesters from covering their faces during demonstrations [of what?] Is this law a way to get rid of peaceful demonstrators? Claude Dauphin of the Montreal executive, said there would be exceptions to the rule. “Demonstrators would have the right to don headgear” that look like a certain politician who is the target of a rally, or wear a ski mask when the temperature goes below -25 C, but not above. What about people wearing a mask to protect themselves or others from Asian flu?
Chablo said, "Whenever there's a protest where people cover their faces with masks or any type of cloth, usually it results in violence or there's an intention to commit violence." How can they prove an intention? Are these laws to protect the cops’ dainty egos? Couldn’t they also be evidence of violent intentions? Many of us are targeted by the cops. Is a natural mask like a dark face more easily punishable? Is this a back door way to justify the racism that people “of color” already suffer at the hands of the cops?
We have a right to cover our face if we don't want to be seen or don’t feel secure enough to be seen. Some of us could have scars or marks we want to hide. The fact that people have to resort to public demonstrations is proof that citizens are given no real respect or voice in the colonial society. Two MNN staffers were targeted and subjected to attempted murder by Canadian agents last June 14th 2008 at the Cornwall border crossing. Canadian officials refuse to investigate this crime, let alone accept responsibility. For those who have never been targeted, fear comes to those of us who know that we may be beaten up or targeted for murder if we express our opinions.
The way the law looks, we can’t wear makeup, sun glasses, mustaches, beards or hats, dye our hair or lose or gain weight for fear of being charged with illegally changing our appearance! The police can drag us into court and cause us all kinds of expense, fines and conditions. When police beat up people in public, we cannot film them. They say they feel intimidated. Police are equipped with video cameras mounted on vans to tape everyone at a protest. But when the videos provide evidence of police misdeeds, the footage suddenly disappears. This law suggests we are going to be forced to salute the cops or else. It looks like they’re stepping up to something more vicious! Aw! shit! Oh, oh! That's a $10 sear word!
MNN Mohawk Nation News
Posted: MNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/ Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at http://www.mohawknationnews.com/, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “Police” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews
Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois Prisonplanet.com/uk-terror-law-to-make-photographing-police-illegal.html;ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090126/national/police_insults
; [From an article by Andy Blatchford of The Canadian Press]; ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal

at 3:25 PM

FLAGSTAFF: An all ages benefit show for Food Not Bombs & Flagstaff Copwatch!

Blackfire, Mokshya, members of Summit Dub Squad, The Spoken Word of Brother Levy, Matt Miller, Jacobo, Stephanie & Marcus, Crucial Taint & More!

Friday, January 30th, 6:30PM, $3-6 admission (sliding scale) At the Murdock Center
S. Agassiz and Butler, Flagstaff, AZ
About Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance.
FNB Flagstaff serves every Sunday from 12 pm -- 2 pm at the Murdock Center.
Contact: naupeaceandjustice@gmail.com
About Copwatch
Copwatch is formed to combat abuse by the police in our community. We use a variety of means to fight police abuse, including community patrols, videotaping of police activity, and education. Copwatch is completely independent from the police, all other law enforcement agencies, the government, and all political parties.
We meet every Tuesday at 8PM at the Taala Hooghan Infoshop.
Contact: flagcopwatch@gmail.com
Klee Benally
indigenousaction@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/eelk
http://www.blackfire.net/
http://www.indigenousaction.org/- Independent Indigenous Media
http://www.savethepeaks.org/
www.myspace.com/taalahooghan

at 12:52 PM

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Catherine Tactaquin, (510) 465-1984 ext. 302
Laura Rivas, (510) 465-1984 ext. 304

Immigrant Rights Supporters Urge Obama To End Raids, Restore Rights

By National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Thousands sign letter to President Obama calling for changes in immigration enforcement in the first 100 days of new Administration
(OAKLAND, CA) Immigrant rights supporters are calling on President Barack Obama and his Administration to protect the rights of immigrant workers, families and communities. An "Open Letter" to President Obama, signed by over 3,500 individuals and organizations from nearly all 50 states in the union, urges Obama and his Administration to end immigration raids and suspend all detentions and deportations in the first 100 days of his Administration.
The letter, which is also being shared with key policy-makers, also calls on President Obama to restore immigrants' due process rights and hold field hearings with immigrant communities to learn from them about the impacts they suffer from immigration law enforcement.
"President Obama must stop the cycle of punishment and implement humanitarian policies and practices to uphold the rights of immigrant communities," declared Catherine Tactaquin, Executive Director of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), announcing the delivery of the "Open Letter to President Barack Obama" during a a telephonic media conference on Tuesday. [Click here to read the Open Letter to President Obama.]
NNIRR members and partners drafted the open letter as part of a campaign to expose the massive immigration detention and deportation system that the U.S. government has built over the last decade. NNIRR is calling for accountability and other changes to end the abuses.
Ms Tactaquin said, "We are calling on President Obama to take decisive action to end the criminalization of immigrants, de-linking immigration policy from the politics of national security. President Obama moved swiftly to close the notorious Guantanamo prison; we will urge him to also act quickly to end the abuse and trauma that hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers are experiencing in detention centers throughout the United States."
Ending Raids Will Not Be Enough to End Abuses
In fiscal year 2008, the Department of Homeland Security deported 349,041 persons; almost 6,000, or less than two per cent, were detained and deported through immigration work place and other types of raids. However, ICE detains and deports the overwhelming majority of immigrants through different strategies, including collaboration with local police and other public agencies and employers.
"The result of raids and other types of immigration enforcement is the same. ICE enforcement devastates families, undermines our rights and traumatizes communities, disrupting the economy. Ending ICE raids will not be enough; detentions and deportations must be put on hold while the Obama Administration takes action to uphold our rights," Ms. Tactaquin concluded.
NNIRR presented several more speakers who shared their stories exposing the grave injustices caused by immigration enforcement in the interior and the border.
Criminalization of Immigrants,
Militarization of Immigration and Border Control
During the media briefing on the open letter to President Obama, NNIRR had several speakers share stories of the devastating effects detention and deportation have on immigrant families.
Susan Gillis spoke about the case of Mr. Rebhy Abdel Malak, an Egyptian man who was brutally beaten by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in an Atlanta detention center to force him to sign away his rights and deport him. Ms. Gillis is advocate working on behalf of Mr. Abdel Malak's family.
Rebhy Abdel Malak came legally to the U.S. ten years ago with his family. He has three children, two who are U.S. citizens, and petitioned for asylum after he and his wife fled religious persecution in Egypt.
Ms. Gillis emphasized, "Mr. Abdel Malak's case points to the humanitarian crisis deepened by a lack of accountability in federal detention centers across the country." Ms. Gillis told how Rebhy Abdel Malak, after errors made by unscrupulous lawyers in his petition, was taken into custody over a year ago and transferred to a remote jail in Alabama, separated from his family in North Carolina. Mr. Abdel Malak is the family's sole breadwinner; his wife and children have been traumatized by his incarceration.
Ms. Gillis urged the immediate release of Mr. Abdel Malak and all immigrants detained for status violations as part of the letter's call to President Obama on immigrant's rights.
Betsy Dewitt with Families for Freedom, an organization in New York advocating with families
directly affected by the detention and deportation regime, noted that "At least 15 percent of American families are 'mixed status,' meaning that at least one or more family member is an immigrant." Ms. DeWitt, whose husband was deported over a year ago, echoed the urgency of ending raids and the cruel separation of families caused by detention and deportation.
Ms. DeWitt said that the ongoing criminalization of immigrants - deepened by the 1996 laws such as Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act - gives no respite to families whose loved ones are being subject to deportation.
President Obama: End Raids, Restore the Rights of Immigrants
"In this era of change, it is vital that we work with the Obama Administration to educate the public and return to American values of family unity and the rule of law. If we can close Guantanamo, we can also close Hutto," Ms. Dewitt emphasized. "T. Don Hutto" is a federal detention facility in Taylor, Texas, used to jail immigrant families, including over 200 children.
Isabel García from the Coalición de Derechos Humanos in Tucson denounced the criminalization of immigrants and spoke out against "Operation Streamline," a strategy implemented at the U.S.-Mexico border to automatically jail migrants. Ms. García said that Streamline has resulted in "criminal convictions of up to 70 persons per day, essentially normalizing violations of the U.S. Constitution en masse." In addition, she urged President Obama and the new administration to "address immigration as a social, humanitarian and economic issue and examine why last year 183 people died a horrific and unnecessary death attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to reunite with families."
Ms. García closed by saying, "Enforcement measures at the U.S.-Mexico border and in the interior affect us all, immigrants or not. Current immigration policies and laws continue to normalize the deprivation of rights for immigrants."
Immigrant rights groups also announced plans for follow-up work with the "Open Letter" to President Barack Obama and members of Congress when they travel to Washington, D.C. in March. Signators and immigrant rights groups will continue pressing elected officials to take action to end the raids, suspend detentions and deportations, and restore due process before the end of Administration's first 100 days.
TAKE ACTION FOR JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS:
Click here to read and share the Open Letter to President Barack Obama with your Congressional delegation, local, county and state public officials and community groups.
Support the National Network!
Founded in 1986, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is dedicated to promoting and defending the rights of all immigrants, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status. By joining and supporting NNIRR, you become part of a Network that works and organizes for justice and human rights for all!
You can join the Network, subscribe to Network News and/or make a generous contribution to support NNIRR's work for justice and human rights!
Click here to join the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights!
Click here, to support NNIRR today!
Order a subscription to Network News, NNIRR's exciting movement newsletter!
For more information and NNIRR action alerts and news, click here:
http://www.nnirr.org/

at 11:26 AM

Where are you now my friends. Longest Walk northern route photos: Yukio in Lake Tahoe; Ruben Aguirre, Tongva Indian Nation, Calif., with Long Walker Marie, Lenny Foster and Kenny Frost at International Indian Treaty human rights forum in Illinois on Longest Walk; Edmund, Sharon, Willow and Michael at the Vigil for Leonard Peliter in Lewisburg, Penn., on the Longest Walk; Long Walkers northern route at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Penn. Watch video from this day at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9zLRucJeQ

Double click on photos to enlarge. Photos by Brenda Norrell brendanorrell@gmail.com

at 10:51 AM

Following the beating of Leonard Peltier by a prison gang, former Congresswoman McKinney urges Obama: 'Let Peltier live!'

Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is a former United States Representative and the 2008 Green Party nominee for President of the United States. McKinney served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993–2003 and 2005–2007, first representing Georgia's 11th Congressional District and then Georgia's 4th Congressional District. She is the first African-American woman to have represented Georgia in the House. In the 1992 election, McKinney was elected in the newly re-created 11th District, and was re-elected in 1994. When her district was redrawn and renumbered due to the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Miller v. Johnson, McKinney was easily elected from the new 4th District in the 1996 election, and was re-elected twice without substantive opposition. McKinney was defeated by Denise Majette in the 2002 Democratic primary, in part due to Republican crossover voting in Georgia's open primary election, which permits anyone from any party to vote in any party primary, and in part due to her "controversial profile, which included a suggestion that George W. Bush knew in advance of the September 11 attacks. (from wikipedia) McKinney recently risked her life on the Free Gaza ship rammed by Israel as she joined doctors to deliver medical aid to Palestine.
www.opednews.com/articles/President-Obama-Let-Pelti-by-Cynthia-McKinney-090128-87.html
President Obama, Let Peltier Live!
by Cynthia McKinney
January 28, 2009

Today, I sent this message to the President:"Mr. President, Justice delayed is justice denied. Leonard Peltier's family report that he has been brutally beaten while in custody. Peltier should be released. He has become a global symbol of injustice and prison abuse. Imprisoned in the late 1970s, Peltier has never been given a fair trial. Yet he has been a model prisoner.
In April he wrote: "Given the choice of lying down to die or standing up to live, we chose to live." Let Peltier live. Please free Leonard Peltier now."It's easy to send a message to President Obama to help him deliver on the hope and change he promised.
Now is the time for us to act.
Unfortunately, the President has already signed an order allowing the continued bombing of Pakistan and his promised Afghanistan surge is underway. What that means for all of us is more war. If we are to have true and lasting peace, it should be clear by now that we won't get it by confining our electoral choices to only the ones presented to us in sophisticated, highly managed public relations campaigns.
True and lasting peace will come only with justice. Freeing our political prisoners, including Peltier, Mumia, Sundiata, Mutulu, Imam El-Amin, our Puerto Rican political prisoners, and so many more is but a down payment on the path of justice and reconciliation that our country so sorely needs.
Cynthia McKinney
IPF WEBSITE: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm and www.myspace.com/leonardpeltierisinnocent
IPF e-mail:ipforum@skynet.be
Also, please visit the website of the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC): http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/
LPDOC e-mail: http://us.mc330.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

FEBRUARY 6, 2009 EVENT FOR LEONARD PELTIER AT C.U BOULDER

Leonard Peltier : 33 Years Behind Bars, 33 Years Searching for American Justice
"America,when will you live up to your own principles?" (Leonard Peltier)

Boulder, Colorado -- The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (Colorado Support Groups),
Indigenous Support Network and 180-11 will be presenting an educational event on the University of Colorado campus on February 6th, 2009 to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier.

The event will feature talks by Chief Leonard Crow Dog(world recognized spiritual leader), as well as David Hill and Ben Carnes, of the LPDOC. There will also be performances from local Lakota drum group, the Plenty Wolf Singers and Aztec dancers, Grupo Tlaloc, from Denver. The event will begin at 7:00pm in room 100 of the Mathematics building.

(The LPDOC will also be staging a rally followed by a march outside the Boulder City Courthouse on Pearl Street starting at noon on Feb.6th 2009 - same day)

Leonard Peltier is an internationally recognized political prisoner who has been imprisoned for 33 years (recognized by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Amnesty International, Robert Redford, Willie Nelson etc.)

This case needs to be brought back into public awareness at this pivotal time in American history. With the inauguration of our first minority president, we need to look soberly at our history in order to bring about a future of justice, equity and healing for the nation. Especially in regards to the treatment of the first nations peoples of the western hemisphere.

To quote Leonard Peltier, "To heal will require real effort, and a change of heart, from all of us. To heal means that we will begin to look upon one another with respect and tolerance instead of prejudice, distrust and hatred. We will have to teach our children-as well as ourselves-to love the diversity of humanity....We can do it. Yes, you and I and all of us together. Now is the time. Now is the only possible time. Let the Great Healing begin."
(Peltier-from Prison Writings-My Life is my Sun Dance).

The ideals of a nation and a man's life are hanging in the balance.
Wakan Tanka, Unshimala yo (Great Mystery have pity on us) Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations). For More info contact Mark "Silent Bear" LPBSG-Boulder silentbear55@yahoo.com
and or Nat Kramer- ISN Nathaniel.Kramer@colorado.edu
and for inquiries directed toward the LPDOC: Ben Carnes eaglemountainsc@earthlink.net
Our Website: www.myspace.com/lpbsgboulder
LPDOC website http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/

at 5:19 PM

NYS GOVERNOR AND COURTS RETREAT – NO AUTHORITY TO INTERFERE WITH SENECA TRADE

MOHAWK NATION NEWS
http://www.mohawknationnews.com/

Jan. 28, 2009. The colony of New York can only tax its subjects. The Seneca Nation and other Ongwehonwe are not part of this colony. The courts agree that the governor’s decree is illegal and non-enforceable. The Senecas say any attempt to interfere with our trade is an affront to our sovereignty.

On January 25, 2009, the Seneca, our brothers, sisters, friends, allies and supporters gathered at Cattaraugus to affirm that NYS must obey valid laws and agreements. At this time NYS Governor David A. Paterson began back pedaling because of the resistance and in anticipation of this New York State court ruling made on January 27th 2009.

The court confirmed that NYS has no right to interfere in Ongwehonwe sovereignty. Their face saving excuse is that NYS “hasn't created a system to exempt Indians from taxation”!!! In other words, they remembered a bit of history. Or maybe they haven’t finished making the harnesses they were trying to put around our necks to make us rescue their failed economy. We stopped them from putting fake taxation remedies on us.

Just before the event Paterson sent a fax to the Seneca pledging his commitment to a “mutually productive relationship” with the “leadership”. He was referring to Barry Snyder of the tribal council which was set up as a colonial entity. This is not his call to make. We have a right under international law to chose our representative to negotiate with full knowledge and consent with foreign states like New York, the U.S. and Canada.

A deal between Paterson and Snyder to determine our fate is unacceptable. We must speak and our words must be heard. NYS has a history of making shady deals with co-opted “leaders”. The people will not let Paterson canoodle in isolation with so called leadership to make a tax pact that isn’t supported by the people.

We will not be threatened by colonial politicians in Albany who try to interfere with our trade and commerce and illegally force colonial jurisdiction on us. We will continue to make plans to collect tolls on the cars passing on the Interstate Thruway #90 that runs across our land. NYS did not honor the 1954 agreement to pay us $1 for every car that passes on the Thruway over our territory. We have every right to assert authority over our land. We have every right to travel freely on our territory. We have never relinquished any of this.

NYS is violating the Two Row Wampum Agreement, the Canadaigua Treaty 1794 and the U.S. Constitution. The Two Row created the U.S. colony. The Canadaigua Treaty states that, “the U.S. acknowledges that our property is our land and that the U.S. will never claim the same, nor disturb us in the use of our land”. It sets out the separate relationship between our nations. Article 7 states that only the U.S. President can select his designate to petition our leadership on nation to nation conflicts. The U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, also designates that only the President or his designate can speak with us on national matters, which is what trade and navigation is.

NYS illegally occupies our land. NYS cannot mount blockades on the delivery of trade goods to us. It is purporting it will come up with a scheme to trick, fool us and use force to make us comply with their pronouncement. They know the Seneca people must agree to everything. Otherwise we will resist as we always have. International law supports the protection of our birthright.

NYS constantly uses fraudulent means to make claims to our rights and possessions. It has never respected its agreement to not harass us, the owners of the land. It looks like NYS backed down when they got resistance. Their court system is set up to maintain their for-profit colonial corporation. But it did support us this time. However, it was the courts dedication to legal principles that forced it to recognize some of our rights.
This sounds more like a script for a B-Rate Hollywood movie. NYS is forming another impotent showpiece, the “Office of Indian Affairs”. We hope it is meant to educate themselves on the true history of the Ongwehonwe and their obligations to us.

Snyder is only familiar with NYS and Federal Indian Law which have nothing to do with our national sovereignty. We know any agreement will be used as a precedent to apply their one-sided edicts to other Ongwehonwe. Snyder is not authorized to negotiate on behalf of the “Keepers of the Western Door”. Only the people can do that through long established protocols. We will continue to live by the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ... 5407.story http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/561569.html Posted by: MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com Comments can be posted on www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePress Store http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription
.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; New York State Legislative Session Information page at http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us
president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org; IMFmschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr; “Kathryn Grant Madigan, President, NYS Bar Association, 1 Elk St., Albany, N.Y. 12207 318-463-3200 %Andrew R. Bush, Director, arush@sysba.org

at 2:32 PM

Photos by Cornelia Vandenberg: Phil Crazy Bull, Bill Soza, Vernon Bellecourt and Lenny Foster in Albuquerque; Lenny Foster, Navajo; Anti sludge dumping demonstration at Torrez Martinez Indian Nation in California against sludge dumping by San Diego in the late 90's; Bob Robideau with a young brother from Costa Rica; Chili Yazzie with XIT during an Indigenous Sovereignty Conference in Albuquerque. Thanks to Cornelia Vandenberg for sharing these photos with Censored News.

at 1:34 PM

Detainees Expose Medical Neglect in 11/08 Death at Piedmont Regional Jail
Advocacy Groups Warn Against Plans for New Detention Center

English – Jeff Winder (434) 906-0421 jeff@thepeopleunited.org
Spanish – Sue Frankel-Streit (540) 717-1051
littleflowercw@wildmail.com

FARMVILLE, Virginia – As reported in today's New York Times,
immigrant detainees in Farmville's Piedmont Regional Jail have come
forward to expose conditions of medical neglect that contributed to
death of Guido Newborough in November of last year. Eyewitnesses
report that Newborough was in intense pain for two weeks, frequently
asking for medical attention. They maintain that he never received
that attention, but was instead knocked to the floor by guards and
dragged on his back to the isolation unit where he remained until he
suffered the massive heart attack and stroke that led to his death.

Jeff Winder of regional advocacy group The People United was contacted
by several detainees for help in getting the truth out. "They were
outraged when they saw the statement from ICE in the local newspaper,"
Winder said. "They are afraid of repercussions by ICE or by the jail
guards because they are speaking out, but were so moved by Guido
Newborough's death that they felt compelled to take the risk and
expose the conditions that exist in Piedmont."

The People United and other groups have been working in opposition to
plans by Farmville and the private company Immigration Centers of
America (ICA) to construct a new 1,000 bed, for-profit immigrant
detention center in Farmville. Despite the fact that ICA has no
experience in managing detention centers, Farmville town Manager
Gerald Spates has assured The People United that all is well because
"They plan to bring in key staff from the Piedmont Regional Jail."

Advocacy groups are not reassured by this assertion. "The medical
neglect in Piedmont Regional Jail is unconscionable," said Sue
Frankel-Streit, another organizer with the People United. "This is the
second time in two years that a detainee has died here amidst
allegations of medical neglect," she continued referring to another
New York Times article which reported that in 2006, detainee Abdouli
Sall died in the jail while huddled against a clothes dryer for warmth
after being denied his prescription medication.

News of the planned detention center has fueled the fear growing among
Virginia's immigrant families in the wake of increased ICE jobsite
raids over the past year. "Immigrants are here looking for work in
order to feed their children," Said Margarita Gonzales, a native of
Mexico, as she addressed the Farmville Town Council last month. "It's
not necessary to put us in jail. . . We hope that you will leave us
to live in peace. We're only trying to create secure lives for
ourselves, just as you are."

ICA has promised a windfall to Farmville's economy, but advocates warn
this may not pan out. "Last month, ICE cancelled its contract with a
detention center in Wyatt, RI after a scandal surrounding a death
similar to Guido Newborough's erupted there," said Winder. "Farmville
could find itself in the same situation - with a brand-new jail that
sits empty and the reputation of a prison town where suspicious deaths
have occurred."

Interviews are available with Piedmont detainees as well as immigrants
and citizens working against the proposed detention center from their
own communities of Tidewater, Richmond, Northern VA, Fredericksburg,
Charlottesville, Louisa, Harrisonburg and Lynchburg.
For more information visit http://www.thepeopleunited.org

at 5:30 PM

Contact: Kari Ann Cowan, Office Corodinator
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
PO Box 7488
Fargo, ND 58106
Phone: 701-235-2206
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
January 27th, 2009, Fargo ND

Native Americans and supporters outraged at FBI and George W. Bush

By Kari Ann Cowan

FARGO, N.D. -- The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) recently influenced the federal prison system to transfer elder Native American, Leonard Peltier, to a facility for young gang members where upon his arrival he was immediately attacked and severely beaten. He was thrown into solitary confinement and denied proper medical care and food. The FBI has put out a letter encouraging others to indulge in whatever activities they can to block a possible pardon by President Obama for Leonard Peltier.

The latest ploy of that faction of government has been to enlist the help of George W. Bush by getting him to sign a clemency denial that could possibly stave off Peltier’s release. This action is an extreme outrage to all the people who believe in freedom and justice for ALL. It is an outrage to all the people who are aware of the true facts of Leonard Peltier’s innocence. The George W. Bush Administration and its followers obviously are trying to set a stage for anything that could possibly expand into some kind of incident that would mar President Obama, President Obama’s Administration and the Democratic Party.

This incident, attacking a 64 year old Native American is unjustified and immoral. People consider Leonard Peltier an extension of themselves and his plight if allowed to continue jeopardizes the freedom of all men. If his case is allowed to stand as it has for 33 years, then no one is guaranteed a fair trial. Some might have a dream – we have a reality. We sincerely ask President Obama to intercede in hopes that this nightmare for American Indian people will end.

For more information contact David Hill, National Coordinator of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, (218) 790-6035.

BUSH DENIED CLEMENCY FOR LEONARD PELTIER!
From International Peltier Forum

President George W. Bush, on January 19th - his last full day in office - formally struck down the petitions for clemency of some high-profile politicians and businessmen, including convicted lawmakers Randall "Duke'' Cunningham, Edwin Edwards and Mario Biaggi and "junk bond" financier Michael Milken, the Justice Department said today.

Bush also denied one of the longest-standing petitions for clemency: for Leonard Peltier. Leonard's application had been under consideration since 1993.

Last year, we asked Sir Bob Geldof (musician, organizer of LifeAid and Life 8, and one of the signatories of the IPF "VIP" petition) if he would be willing to speak with President Bush about Leonard's case. Bob Geldof traveled to the G8 Summit in Tokyo (July 2008) and was able to briefly speak with Bush and handed a letter to the president's Counsel. In the letter Sir Geldof pleaded to grant Leonard executive clemency.

On December 12th, 2008, Michael Kuzma, attorney for Leonard Peltier, received a letter from Fred F. Fielding, another Counsel to the President, in which he wrote:
"I am writing to thank you for your recent letter requesting an update on Mr. Leonard Peltier's petition for a commutation of his sentence. His petition is under review, and please be assured that Mr. Bob Geldof's views on this matter will be seriously considered." [emphasis added by IPF]
"Serious consideration" ?! Yeah, right... (I'm trying to remain polite.)
Not that I personally ever believed that Bush would consider granting clemency. But instead of rejecting / denying the petition, Bush could have done the same thing Clinton did: nothing. Because such a denial is a serious setback for those intent on clemency. After a denial a petitioner must wait two years to re-apply for a pardon and one year for a commutation of a prison sentence. (the latter in Leonard's case)
But.... ha!...
Petitioners can also circumvent the Justice Department and appeal directly to the White House whenever they want. See more below...

The Justice Department declined to comment on any details of the cases. The White House had no comment, before the inauguration on who might be granted clemency, or why.

The pardon power was created to allow the President to redress injustices that the judicial system is unable to remedy or for other reasons, such as Jimmy Carter's pardon of Vietnam-era draft resisters in an effort to restore domestic tranquility.

The Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney traditionally issues a formal recommendation based on a thorough investigation of the applicant and the case. But over the past two decades, more and more applicants have gone directly to the White House, citing a huge backlog of cases at the Justice Department.

In the end, the President alone has the ultimate power to grant or deny pardons or keep them alive.

Some of those denied by Bush had been considered likely candidates for some kind of clemency, in part due to the length of the prison terms, their contributions to society and their extensive lobbying campaigns. We, supporters of Leonard Peltier have waged a decades-long campaign to free him. He is a political prisoner; he never received a fair trial; there is sufficient evidence of his innocence.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The President and only the President has the power to grant clemency. It is a power given to the President by the U.S. Constitution with no conditions attached.
Call President Obama to express your outrage and concern, and ask him to pardon Leonard now at 202-456-1111 (White House comment line: don't push any buttons, and a real person will answer your call)

E-mail President Obama to express your outrage and concern, and ask him to pardon Leonard now at www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ or email comments@whitehouse.gov or use or online petition form at http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm (this petition form is sent directly to the White House!)

Write to President Obama to express your outrage and concern, and ask him to grant executive clemency to / a commutation of sentence for Leonard Peltier now.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20500
(USA)
Don't do it once. Do it every single day !!!
Els Herten
coordinator KOLA / IPF
articles about Bush's pardon / clemency denials:
www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/01/bush_ryan_edwards_pardons_deni.html
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012701806.html?hpid=moreheadlines
www.wbbm780.com/pages/3734547.php?contentType=4&contentId=3419857
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-pardons0127,0,5478821.story

at 4:01 PM

Special thanks to Cornelia Vandenberg for sharing her photos with Censored News. The top photo is Fern Mathias and Floyd Westerman, both now in the Spirit World; John Trudell and 'Save Puvungna.'

Cornelia said, "Puvungna was what is now Long Beach. They desecrated it to build a parking lot, cutting Indian skeletons in half as they ran their diggers over the grounds, and this is the university! I don't trust any of them. Puvungna is the last remnant of the sacred land of the Indians that lived on the bit of land that is now Los Angeles.

"Floyd and Fern are at a conference at California State University in Fullerton. It was an anti-mascot conference. Charlene Teters also presented."

Photos Cornelia Vandenberg

at 1:56 PM

43 Alaskan Native Americans File Suit Against Jesuits for Rape, Sexual Assault; Alaska Was Catholic Church's Dumping Grounds for Rapist Priests

Jan 26th, 2009
Warning to victims: Graphic information follows
By Women's Space
Photo: Rena Abouchuk said a priest abused her, her brother and six of her cousins, all of whom later committed suicide. Photo Courtney Blethen/Seattle Times

Forty-three Alaskan Native Americans have filed suit against the 'Society of Jesus' (the Jesuits) for turning areas where Native Americans lived in Alaska into a virtual dumping ground for child-raping priests over decades and decades, beginning in the 1950s. The suit alleges that the Roman Catholic Church knew the priests it was sending to Alaska were child rapists and child molesters and didn't care. According to the complaint, as many as 15 rapist priests were working amongst the Athabascan and Yu'pik Natives; so far 300 of their victims have stepped forward to tell their stories.
Little girls were fondled, assaulted and raped in the churches, in rectories, in priests homes; little boys were raped as well. The areas in which the victims lived were isolated and often accessible only by sled. There were no police nearby to call, and even if there had been, which of them might have believed the reports of children and poor indigenous persons against this horrific number of priests? There were few or no health care providers or facilities in these areas so there were no health care professionals who would have recognized signs of sexual abuse.
According to the 78-page complaint,
* Anton Smario taught religion classes to the young girls After catechism Smario would let the young girls stay in the classroom at the rectory and play or color in coloring books, offering them food, juice and sweets as an inducement to remain after class. He would ask the girls to touch his penis, and would rub his erect penis on their backs, necks and arms. Sometimes he would wipe or rub his semen on the girls after he ejaculated.
* Father William J. Loyens, S.J., a member of the Society of Jesus since 1947 testified in his 2004 deposition that the 'Native population was fairly loose on sexual matters' and that heinous abuse of Native children by a priest would be 'less impressive' than sexual abuse of a white child and that heinous sexual abuse of Native children by a priest wouldn't have much of an impact.
* On unknown dates when she was approximately 8 years of age Plaintiff Jean Doe 3 was sexually molested by Father Endal on numerous occasions. The molestations included Father Endal forcing plaintiff to lie on his bed.. and penetrating plaintiff¹s vagina.
* On unknown dates when she was approximately 7 or 8 years of age, Plaintiff Jean Doe 4 was sexually molested by Father Endal. The molestation included Father Endal forcing plaintiff to touch his penis and Father Endal penetrating plaintiff's vagina. Father Endal then gave plaintiff money to keep quiet about the sexual abuse and told her she would burn in hell if she ever told anyone
According to the complaint, officials high in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church knew priests sent to Alaska were serial pedophiles and did nothing to protect children from them. Only two rapist priests are named in the suit, Father Henry Hargreaves and Jesuit volunteer Anton Smario; most of the other rapist priests have died.
The photo above (see link below for photo) is of a defendant in the lawsuit, Henry Hargreaves, S.J., who is apparently still a priest in good standing with the Society of Jesus. According to the complaint (in which Hargreaves was described as a known serial pedophile):
When he was approximately 5 through 6 years of age, Plaintiff James Doe 94 was sexually molested by Father Hargreaves The molestation included. Father Hargreaves forcibly bending plaintiff over Father Hargreaves bed and Father Hargreaves penetrating Plaintiff with his erect penis. Father Hargreaves held Plaintiff's arms tightly so that he could not escape. Father Hargreaves sodomized Plaintiff for approximately five minutes. For several days after being raped by Father Hargreaves, Plaintiff bled from his rectum, was in severe pain
Compare the above with this excerpt of what the Society of Jesus has up on the internet about Hargreaves, who is described as the 'last of the great missionaries.'
Henry Hargreaves left his imprint on the native peoples of western Alaska as probably the last of the great missionaries. Henry loves to tell the story of his arrival in Chevak, Alaska in 1949 as a newly minted priest. He walked from the Widgen aircraft to the parish residence where Fr. Paul O'Connor, S.J. greeted him by saying that he had housing meetings in Dillingham, Alaska, and here are the keys. Undaunted, Henry accepted the keys and took the challenge to begin the life of a missionary in the most undeveloped area of Alaska.
Some of the victims of the priests attended a news conference at Seattle University last Wednesday. The President of SU is named in the suit as having known priests sent to Alaska were pedophiles and doing nothing about it but instead maintaining what were referred to as 'hell files' relating to the priests.
According to news reports one victim, Florence Kenney, above, now 74, said she kept silent for almost 60 years. She told of the harsh discipline she suffered at the hands of the Jesuits, of the loss of her culture as a child and young woman, and of going to 'Father Supreme' at the mission for help at the age of 13, only to be sexually assaulted by him repeatedly. She is speaking out for the first time in 60 years because, she says, 'I want to speak for all the ones who couldn't speak. I'm speaking now because there's always a time, an end to silence and an end to secrets.'
Rena Abouchuk said a priest abused her, her brother and six of her cousins, all of whom later committed suicide. She read aloud a letter she wrote to the priest:
You did so many evil things to young children. You walked into my young life and so many others when we were small, innocent children, just six-, seven-, eight-year-old children, and took it all away from us, touching us in ways that I will never forget, you made us touch you, you did so many evil things in St. Michael's Church, Stebbins Church, and lived your life like you did nothing wrong. Someday you will have to answer to God.
More at:
http://www.womensspace.org/phpBB2/2009/01/26/43-alaskan-native-americans-file-suit-against-jesuits-for-rape-sexual-assault-alaska-was-catholic-churchs-dumping-grounds-for-pedophiles/
Lawsuit alleges president of Seattle U knew of sex abuse
Says Sundborg had access to 'Hell Files'
By AMY ROLPH P-I REPORTER
Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg is named in a lawsuit alleging that Jesuit leaders covered up the crimes of priests who sexually abused at least 43 Native Alaskan children during the span of four decades.
The lawsuit, filed in Alaskan Superior Court in the city of Bethel, states that Sundborg had access to "Hell Files" -- private church documents detailing things priests had done that were "not good" -- when he was head of a Northwest order of Jesuits from 1990 to 1996. Read article:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/396042_lawsuit15.html?source=mypi

at 6:44 PM

BREAKING NEWS: DECISION ON SHOSHONE BARRICK GOLD BLM MT. TENABO CASE: Mining Going Forward

Article and photo by Lisa J. Wolf, Correspondent
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
January 26, 2009

RENO, Nev. -- Monday, January 26, 2009 at 3:00 p.m., Judge Larry Hicks “denied the Plaintiffs’ motion for a Preliminary Injunction in its entirety on the grounds that the Plaintiffs had not demonstrated likely success on the merits to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a Preliminary Injunction, according to Chris Worthington, Planning & Environmental Coordinator for the Bureau of Land Management’s Battle Mountain Mt. Lewis Field Office.
Said Worthington, “That means basically they [Barrick Cortez] can go ahead and start up.” Worthington expects Hick’s written rule on Tuesday, January 27, 2008.
Worthington said, “On the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA Claim), the Court found that, based on the Navajo Nation Case, a substantial burden was not demonstrated in this case; and then he considered it significant that Plaintiffs would continue to have access to areas they claim for religious and spiritual purposes,” including the top of Mt. Tenabo, the White Cliffs, and Horse Canyon. “He concluded that their spiritual experience may be diminished by the project, but that does not amount to a substantial burden.”
Worthington, who received the legal synopsis from Donna Fitzerald, Justice Department Attorney who represented the BLM in the case, related that “On the NEPA claims, the Court described the EIS [Environmental Impact Study] as very thorough and obviously the product of thousands of hours of analysis and expertise by either the BLM or the contractor. He further concluded that BLM gave all of the relevant issues raised by this type of project the requisite ‘hard look.’”
“On the FLPMA [Federal Land Policy Management Act] claim,” Worthington related that “the Court reviewed the requirement that BLM take any action necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation to the public lands and determined that based on what had been presented in the Government’s brief and arguments, the Agency had satisfied the standards.”

Judge refuses to halt huge Nevada gold mine
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer
Monday, January 26, 2009/San Francisco Chronicle
A federal judge ruled Monday a massive gold mine project could proceed in northeast Nevada despite a bid by a Western tribe and conservationists to block it on religious and environmental grounds.
U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks ruled there's not enough evidence to force Barrick Gold Corp. to postpone digging a 2,000-foot deep open pit at the Cortez Hills mine on Mount Tenabo 250 miles east of Reno until a trial is held on the merits of the project.
The Great Basin Resource Watch and the Western Shoshone claimed the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's review of the Toronto-based company's proposed mine ignores some of the environmental effects and disregards tribal leaders' concerns it will destroy a sacred landmark.
Hicks, who took more than a half hour to explain his ruling from the bench, said a preliminary injunction like the one the plaintiffs wanted is an "extraordinary remedy" taken only when there is a likelihood they will prevail at trial.
He said that while he might change his mind, so far mine opponents had failed to prove construction of the mine would violate the tribe's religious freedoms or that the BLM violated any federal environmental laws in approving the mine under the Mining Act of 1872.
"The effect of the proposed mining project is on the plaintiffs' subjective, emotional experience. It is offensive to their sensibilities and in the mind of some will desecrate a sacred mountain," Hicks said.
"Nevertheless, the diminishment of that spirituality — as serious as it may be — under the Supreme Court's holdings it is not a substantial burden on religious freedom," he said.
Hicks said he also disagreed with the opponents' claims that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act and Federal Land Management Policy Act by failing to adequately consider effects on groundwater and scenic values of the area.
He said an environmental study was very thorough.
"It is very clear it represents thousands and thousands of work hours by BLM," Hicks said.
"The court is satisfied they met the laws that require the BLM to take a hard look at all of the issues that pertain to a project such as this one," he said.
Louis Schack, manager of communications and community affairs for Barrick Gold of North America, said the company was glad Hicks agreed the project was "thoroughly reviewed and responsibly approved" by the BLM.
"This is the most studied and scrutiinized mining project in Nevada. It is also very important to the economic stability of rural Nevada," Schack said.
Roger Flynn, a lawyer with the Western Mining Action Project representing the tribe and the Great Basin Resource Watch, said before the ruling was issued that the plaintiffs would consider appealing to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. He did not immediately return a telephone call or e-mail seeking comment after the ruling.
Lawyers for Barrick — the largest gold mining company in the world — said any delay in digging the mine would have caused an undue financial hardship on the company and its workers during tough economic times.
The company is prepared to spend $640,000 a day for the next 15 months, said Francis Wikstrom, a lawyer for Barrick. He said a lot of that money would remain in Nevada, a state that produces more gold than any other — trailing only South Africa, Australia and China internationally.
Thirty workers already have been laid off and 250 to 300 more would be out of work and unlikely to find other jobs if the project had been halted, he said.
"This is basically the only game in town in northern Nevada," Wikstrom said. "People need to feed their families."
Hicks said the case has "tremendous significance" to the tribe, the mining company and its workers.
"And it certainly has huge implications to the public at a time of severe economic difficulties throughout the nation, not just in Nevada," he said.
Hick said that while there was no question Mount Tenabo was a very important mountain to the Western Shoshone, mining has been prevalent on the mountain since the 1860s — even before Nevada was a state.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/26/financial/f153941S55.DTL

Protest Barrick Net

http://www.protestbarrick.net/
Tanzanian Police Shoot Dead villager Muhono Marwa at Barrick's North Mara Mine

On the morning of January 21, the paramilitary police units that were brought by the hundreds after last month's uprising by the local communities met a group of youth in an area where villagers' homes come right into the mine fence. Apparently, the paramilitaries started to chase the youth and in the process opened fire, killing Muhono Marwa Gibare and wounding Nyakebayi Chacha Nyakebayi and Maswi Bokobora. Muhono Marwa was shot in the back while running away from the police. He died instantly. This latest killing brings to two villagers who have died violently in that mine since last month and eight since Barrick apparently adopted their shoot-to-kill strategy in July of 2005.

at 2:52 PM

CRISIS ON THE SCHAGHTICOKE RESERVATION

"Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond" radio program on WESU, Middletown, CT, 88.1fm.

LISTEN ONLINE while the program airs from 4-4:55pm (EST): www.wesufm.org
On Tuesday's program, January 27, 2009, join your host, Dr. J. Kehaulani Kauanui for an episode focusing on a crisis on the Schaghticoke reservation in Kent, CT. A non-Indian male intruder who claims to be the spokesman of an un-enrolled Schaghticoke woman who says she is the chief of the Schaghticoke Indian Nation is bull-dozing land to create road, cutting down trees, and even desecrating sacred sites. The reservation land is held in trust by the state Department of Environmental Protection. However, state officials and even state police have refused to stop the non-Native trespasser. Guests will discuss the course of events, and the barriers they face in trying to get the attention of state officials who claim their hands are tied because of a "leadership conflict." Hear from: Katherine Saunders, Chair of the Preservation Committee for the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation; esteemed Schaghticoke elder, Trudie Lamb Richmond, Connecticut Native American Heritage Advisory Council, and the Preservation Committee for the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation; Nicholas F. Bellantoni, the state archaeologist with the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Archaeology Center at the University of Connecticut; and the Chief of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, Richard Velky.
~~~
In response to the latest situation of destruction on their reservation, the Schaghticoke plan to rally against state neglect with a march on the Capitol in Hartford. Native and non-Native supporters will gather on the south side of the state capitol building and the legislative office building Jan. 29 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to protest the state's refusal to stop the non-Schaghticoke trespasser. Tribal members also posted a petition at petitiononline.com, which they intend to present to Gov. Jodi Rell at the rally. The petition calls on the governor "to investigate and order an immediate halt to the hate crimes, destruction, desecration of sacred lands and encroachment" that continues despite the tribe's requests for help. Russell Means will be flying in to support at the rally as well.
~~~ Past programs of "Indigenous Politics" are now archived online: www.indigenouspolitics.com.
~~~ "Indigenous Politics" is syndicated weekly on Pacifica-affiliate stations: WNJR, 91.7 FM, "Washington & Jefferson College Radio"
in Washington, PA, and WETX-LP, 105.3 FM, "The independent voice of Appalachia," which includes a region encompassing TWELVE STATES and 20 million people: east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, west Kentucky, all of West Virginia, most of Pennsylvania, south New York, west Maryland, west North Carolina, west South Carolina, north Georgia, north Alabama, and northeast Mississippi. In addition, next month, WBCR-lp in Massachusetts will begin to syndicate the show.
~~~ The show's producer and host, J. Kehaulani Kauanui, Ph.D. is an associate professor of American Studies and Anthropology at Wesleyan University. She is the author of a newly released book, Hawaiian Blood: Colonialism and the Politics of Sovereignty and Indigeneity (Duke University Press, 2008). http://jkauanui.faculty.wesleyan.edu/

at 2:09 PM

No Abu Ghraib in Arizona!
By American Friends Service Committee

OPPOSE appointment of Terry Stewart as Corrections Director!
Rumors are swirling about the departure of most state department heads following the transition of the Governorship from Napolitano to Jan Brewer. This includes the replacement of Dora Schriro as Director of the Department of Corrections. No rumor is more concerning to prisoners, their families, or prison reform advocates than the specter of Terry Stewart returning to run the department.
In 2003, the former Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Terry Stewart, was commissioned by the State Department to oversee the development of Iraqi prisons. Senator Charles Schumer called on the Department of Justice to investigate the involvement of Stewart in Abu Ghraib, noting that Stewart had a “shocking record of tolerating prisoner abuse” as Director of Arizona’s prisons. (“Senator seeks investigation of US prison experts in Iraq,” Arizona Republic, 6/3/04).
Specifically, Schumer referred to a 1997 lawsuit by the US DOJ following an 18-month investigation of alleged sexual abuse of female inmates. A subsequent report found "an unconstitutional pattern of practice of sexual misconduct"; documented the cases of 14 female inmates who were raped, sodomized or assaulted by guards; and criticized DOC officials for not dealing with the problem. (“Uncle Sam wants you anyway,” Dan Frosch, Alternet, 5/24/04 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=116x5949)
Another major development during Stewart’s reign was the increasing privatization of prisons. He fought hard for a proposal to build a prison just for Mexican national prisoners, which would be run by a private corporation. Small wonder, then, that when he left the Department in 2002, he went to work for a private prison consulting firm. Given the current level of privatization of prisons in Arizona, this presents a potential conflict of interest, if Stewart is named Corrections Director and is still profiting personally from the corporations that secure such contracts.
Not only was Stewart’s management of the department misguided, it was also expensive. In 2002 the Arizona Republic reported on the department's “Protective Services Unit,” which investigated death threats and provided bodyguards for Stewart. The eight-employee unit was reported to cost an estimated $275,000 per year. (“Threats on Arpaio costly: Public pays $264,653 for security detail,” By Tom Zoellner, The Arizona Republic, 1/4/02 http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/0104threats04.html).
Call Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and tell her NO ABU GHRAIB IN ARIZONA.
We OPPOSE the appointment of Terry Stewart as Director of Corrections because:
1. Stewart is a poor administrator who makes bad decisions. As Arizona Corrections Director, he turned a blind eye to mistreatment of prisoners, fought tooth and nail with the State Legislature, and refused to be accountable for his actions.
2. Stewart’s association with private prison corporations represents a conflict of interest. He is personally profiting from contracts with state departments of correction, but as ADC Director he would be responsible for negotiating such contracts.
3. Stewart will cost the state money, at a time when we can’t afford mistakes. Stewart’s bodyguards alone cost Arizona $275,000 a year in 2002.
4. Stewart is an embarrassment to the State of Arizona, and will be a public relations nightmare for the new Governor. We can’t afford lawsuits from the Department of Justice or a scandal on the scale of Abu Ghraib.
CALL TODAY! The decision will likely be made THIS WEEK
Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381
OR you can send an email via the Governor’s webpage:
http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp
More info at:
Caroline Isaacs
Program Director,
American Friends Service Committee
Arizona Area Program
103 N. Park Ave., Suite 111
Tucson, AZ 85719
520.623.9141 p/520.623.5901 f

www.afsc.org/az

at 12:03 PM

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

Julia Good Fox, Pawnee, who was in Palestine with the People of Color, Third World Delegation, speaks on Red Town Radio hosted by Muscogee Brenda Golden of Oklahoma. Good Fox said the genocide that targeted Native Americans has taken place around the globe.
Good Fox, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University, said the militarization of Indigenous lands in this country has taken place in Palestine. The result is intergenerational trauma and historical trauma, which has a tremendous impact on present Native American communities.
Good Fox said in Palestine, people have been removed from their jobs for speaking their language, revealing one of the similarities between the genocide of Palestinians and Native Americans.
In Palestine, people are being forcibly relocated by Israel and resettled in areas called “reservations,” just as in the colonized United States. Some reservation areas in Palestine are now labeled “unrecognized,” and cut off from resources such as water, just as in the United States, she said.
Good Fox said in earlier times, Palestine was a place where diverse populations lived together in peaceful coexistence for the most part. It was only in the Twentieth Century that this bloody conflict began.
The US has played a major role in this conflict. The United States’ $2 billion in military aid to Israel is also responsible. Good Fox said Israel has carried out genocide against Palestinians with the aid of the United States.
During the show, Good Fox also discussed colonization, sovereignty and Indian education. Haskell students Diane Sampson O'otham (Pima) and Stephen Morgan, Cherokee/Creek, joined the radio show and spoke on current issues and challenges in Indian education.
In the radio show, Good Fox describes her own struggle. Although she once dropped out of school and then received her GED, she is now a doctoral student and on the faculty of the Indigenous and American Indian Studies Program at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Red Town Radio will host a two-hour radio show on Feb. 7. The topic is Residential Boarding Schools, with guests Russell Means of the Lakotah Republic, and Kevin Annett, a minister and activist exposing residential school abuse in Canada.
Listen to today's show and on Feb. 7 to Red Town Radio at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/RedTownRadio

at 10:59 AM

Dear President Obama,
You can begin a new era in the history of Immigrant America...

Immigrant rights groups will deliver an "Open Letter to President Barack Obama" calling for action in the first 100 days of his Administration to end raids and suspend all detentions & deportations and implement humanitarian practices and policies

Over 3,500 individuals and organizations sign Open Letter to President Obama.

What: National Telephonic All Media Conference

When: 10:00 AM Pacific,Tuesday, January 27, 2009 for a duration of one hour (11:00 AM Mountain, 12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern)

Where: Call 1 (719) 325-4843

Conference Title: "NNIRR Open Letter to President Obama"

Who:
Catherine Tactaquin, Executive Director, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)
Susan Gillis, Advocate for Mr. Rebhy Abdel-Malak, an Egyptian brutally beatened by ICE agents in detention while seeking asylum
Betsy DeWitt, Families for Freedom, New York
Esther López, United Food and Commercial Workers, Washington, D.C.
Isabel García, Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Tucson, AZ
Arnoldo García, Moderator, NNIRR
Why: Community members and partners of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) will be delivering an "Open Letter to President Barack Obama" calling for accountability and decisive changes in immigration enforcement policies and practices in the first 100 days of his Administration. Speakers will provide testimony of the brutal impacts of immigration enforcement and border control on immigrant families, workers and communities.

Signed by over 3,500 individuals and organizations from across the country, the letter calls on President Obama to end immigration raids, suspend all detentions and deportations and restore Constitutional rights and protections for all immigrants and their families at the border and in the interior of the U.S. as the first step of implementing humanitarian policies and practices in the treatment of immigrants.

Ms. Catherine Tactaquin, NNIRR Executive Director, declared, "Ending raids will not be enough to stop the abuses. In fiscal year 2008, the Department of Homeland Security deported 349,041 persons; less than two percent, or about 6,000, were deported through immigration raids. Immigration enforcement is trampling the rights and dignity of countless immigrant workers, and their families and communities are being devastated by the deportations and other rights abuses."

Ms Tactaquin added, "We're calling on President Obama to take decisive action during the first 100 days of his Administration by ending raids and stopping abuses in U.S. immigration detention centers and deportations. The Obama Administration and Congress must take a hard look at the disastrous results U.S. immigration and border control has had on our communities. Our government can implement these immediate changes to make a difference in the lives of immigrant and refugee members of our communities. Then President Obama and Congress can end the abuses and rights violations once and for all by enacting socially just immigration reforms."

at 7:57 PM

WESTERN SHOSHONE FACE BARRICK AND BLM IN RENO FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT ON INAUGURATION DAY
By Lisa J. Wolf, Correspondent
RENO -- Western Shoshone upholding the sanctity of Mt. Tenabo led prayers and drumming at 8 a.m. outside the Federal District Court House in Reno, Tuesday, January 20th. The Western Shoshone held signs for passing traffic and news media as prayers and drumming were led by Western Shoshone, Ted Howard. Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/western-shoshone-face-barrick-gold-in.html

From Google Breaking News: Business News AOL Canada, Canada - 3 hours ago Conservationists and members of the Western Shoshone tribal are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt part of a huge gold mine project the company plans. ...
Judge to rule Monday in fight over big Barrick Gold project in Nevada The Canadian Press, Nev. - 8 hours agoConservationists and members of the Western Shoshone tribal are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt part of a huge gold mine project the company plans. ...
55 Films and 31 Filmmakers Slated for 2009 Boulder International ... PR Newswire (press release), NY - Jan 23, 2009 This powerful film tells the story of two elderly Western Shoshone sisters persecuted and prosecuted by the US government for grazing a few hundred horses ...
Final arguments scheduled today in Barrick Cortez Hills injunction ... Mineweb, UK - Jan 22, 2009 Final arguments are scheduled today in a US federal court in the efforts of environmental NGOs, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin ...
Critics question water, access at disputed NV mine San Jose Mercury News, USA - Jan 22, 2009Some Western Shoshone and the environmental group Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking a preliminary injunction in US District Court to halt at least part ...

at 10:49 AM

Obama Beware: 'Shirley's fraudulent action not only breaches federal trust responsibility, but he invites testing non-existent technology on innocent test subjects, the Navajos'

By Dine' CARE
Dine' Citizens Against Ruining our Environment

In December 2008, Navajo President Shirley sent the Obama-Biden transition team a federal agenda that outlines 27 recommendation policies and requests for $2.9 billion in funding through Obama's $775 billion stimulus program.
Some of these priorities include research funding for water rights, health issues and medical facilities on the Navajo Nation. These issues require an attentive eye from Obama; however, Shirley concealed the proposed Desert Rock power plant and carbon capture sequestration, or CCS, technology as riders in the agenda. In effect, Shirley's fraudulent action not only breaches federal trust responsibility, but he invites testing non-existent technology on innocent test subjects, the Navajos.
Two things are important to note on Shirley's request for federal funds to test for CCS technology:
First, the agenda states "CCS is expensive and unproven in a commercial capacity power plant" and adding CCS components would add $450 million to each of Desert Rock's two furnaces. So far, Desert Rock costs are projected at $4 billion without the consideration of CCS. Sithe Global LLC has stated that it invested about $20 million in the project and that the tribe loses $5 million every month. Should the federal government expend an additional $1 billion atop erroneous business endeavors such as Desert Rock when it is clearly losing millions per month?
Second, the agenda states that the Navajo Nation is willing to host a commercial scale CCS component since the proposed Desert Rock location is ideal to test carbon storage. Unfortunately, none of Desert Rock's public hearings, primary and legal documents (Air Quality Permit and Draft Environmental Impact Statement) include any analysis of CCS for Desert Rock. Inevitably, to consider CCS technology in Desert Rock would require developers to restart the entire federal permitting process. Is it not a business cliché that "Time is money"?
Altogether, Desert Rock's 20-year lack of achievement and $4 billion price tag is deviously embedded in the federal agenda. What is most disturbing, however, is the notion that Navajos are expendable guinea pigs to non-existent technology. In 2009, we hope that the legal, political and economic tangles will hasten the demise of Desert Rock.
DAILAN J. LONG
Burnham
LUCI A. WILLIE
Burnham
SARAH JANE WHITE
Sanostee
Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment (Diné CARE)
Dáilan J. Long
Community Organizer,Diné CARE
(505) 801-0713
dailan.jake@gmail.com
www.desert-rock-blog.com

at 9:45 PM

Sent by Federal Express
January 24, 2009
Mr. Harley G. Lappin, Director
Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20534

Re: Leonard Peltier, #89637-132

Dear Director Lappin:

I represent Mr. Leonard Peltier, #89637-132, who is currently incarcerated at USP Canaan.

Mr. Peltier was recently transferred to USP Canaan from USP Lewisburg. It is my understanding that Mr. Peltier was brutally attacked on or about January 13, 2009. Mr. Peltier suffered a possible concussion, the middle finger on his left hand may be broken or is badly injured, he has a large bump near his right wrist, the right side of his rib cage and chest are in a pain, the right side of his chest is bruised as is his left knee, and he is now having headaches, which Mr. Peltier believes are a direct result of the January 13, 2009 beating.

It is clear that Mr. Peltier is in grave danger at USP Canaan. By letters dated November 29, 2008 and December 15, 2008, I requested that Mr. Peltier be transferred to the Turtle Mountain reservation or, in the alternative, he be sent to Sandstone FCI or Oxford FCI. As I noted in my letter of December 15, 2008, on August 20, 2008 Mr. Peltier sought to be transferred to Sandstone FCI or Oxford FCI. A copy of the “Inmate Request to Staff” form dated August 20, 2008 that Mr. Peltier submitted to Case Manager Rothermel is once again enclosed for your information.

Please advise me of what steps, if any, you have taken to ensure Mr. Peltier’s safety. More specifically, I would like to know what you have done to make sure that he is not attacked again in the future. Also, has Mr. Peltier received appropriate medical treatment for his injuries? If not, it is imperative that he sees health care professionals without any further delay so that his injuries may be properly treated.

I look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Michael Kuzma, Esq.

Enclosures

cc: Mr. Henry J. Sadowski,
Regional Counsel
=+=+=+=+=+=
IPF WEBSITE:
http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm and www.myspace.com/leonardpeltierisinnocent
IPF e-mail: ipforum@skynet.be Also, please visit the website of the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC): www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
LPDOC e-mail: contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

at 2:55 PM

Photos copyright Bill Hackwell.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/24/18565416.php

On short notice the American Indian community and their supporters came out in the rain Friday in San Francisco to protest this attack on Leonard Peltier. Family members of Leonard feel this cowardly assault was orchestrated by the FBI to prejudice his next parole hearing. Today's demonstration began at the new federal building and then marched to the Phillp Burton Federal Building. Tony Gonzalez, Director of AIM West, led a delegation inside to house leader Nancy Pelosi's office to demand a congressional hearing into the attack on Leonard and the policies of all federal prisons. To keep up to date on these developments contact AIM-West at 415-557-1492 or gazelbe [at] yahoo.com

More coverage at: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/23/18565373.php

Watch videos:> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLJXfYCn26Q> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOyDLsxCwR8

at 2:38 PM

By Theda New Breast

Glacier Reporter

On Dec. 30, while on vacation with my mother, Betty Cooper, and my daughter, Amanda Old Crow, we discovered the headstones of two Piegan (Blackfeet) children who lie buried in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School graveyard -- Launy Shorty, Feb. 16, 1882, and George Ell, April 7, 1891.

We were brought to our knees with grief when we saw the rows of headstones marking the deaths of 186 Native children who had died while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Carlisle, Pa., is the site of the first boarding school to be opened in 1879. Policymakers sought to use the schoolhouse - specifically the boarding schools - as an instrument for acculturating Indian youth to "American" ways of thinking and living. By 1899, after some 3,800 students had attended Carlisle, only 209 had actually graduated.

Richard Henry Pratt, headmaster of Carlisle for 25 years, subscribed to the principle, "Kill the Indian in him and save the man."There is a national effort mounting among Tribes to ask President Obama for an apology from the United States for Indian children who were tortured in U.S. Boarding Schools. On June 11, 2008, the Canadian government apologized to Native people for the thousands who were traumatized at Canadian boarding schools. Elder Ozzie Williamson, elder Betty Cooper and White Bison Advisor Theda New Breast are announcing the Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness.

The Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness will begin May 16 at the Chemawa, Ore., Boarding school. It will continue as a 40-day, 6,800 mile cross-country journey to present and former Indian school sites, ending June 21 at the American Indian Museum in Washington, D.C.

The goal is to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness among Native people for the historical trauma carried home from these schools. This intergenerational trauma is believed to be at the root of substance abuse, suicides and domestic violence plaguing our reservation today.

For more information about the journey you can go to the website: http://www.wellbrietyjourney.org/

At each of the 23 sites there will be "Talking Circles" and Forgiveness and "Letting Go" ceremonies.

http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/articles/2009/01/21/glacier_reporter/news/news8.txt

at 1:43 PM

President Obama's statement on Native Americans is a start! But, where are the the rights of Indigenous Peoples, border rights and southern border militarization, economic and environmental justice issues?
--Jose Matus, director of the Indigenous Alliance without Borders/Alianza Indigena sin Fronteras

A CALL TO MEET - ALIANZA INDIGENA SIN FRONTERAS MEETING
SANTA ROSA - 1075 S. 10TH AVE.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2009
TUCSON, AZ 10AM - 4PM
CONTACT - JOSE MATUS - 520-979-2125
Photo: Jose Matus at migrant rights march at Democratic National Convention in Denver 2008/Photo Brenda Norrell
--Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

BARACK OBAMA’S PRINCIPLES FOR STRONGER TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

“Perhaps more than anyone else, the Native American community faces huge challenges that have been ignored
by Washington for too long. It is time to empower Native Americans in the development of the national policy
agenda.” Barack Obama

The hundreds of Indian tribes in America face a unique set of challenges. Issues like sovereignty, health care,
and education—issues that are central to tribes’ future prosperity and embedded in the federal government’s
responsibility—are often neglected. Barack Obama is committed to tribal nation building and enforcing the
federal government’s obligations to Indian people.

SOVEREIGNTY, TRIBAL-FEDERAL RELATIONS AND THE TRUST RESPONSIBILITY: Native
American tribal nations are sovereign, self-governing political entities and enjoy a government-to-government
relationship with the United States federal government that is recognized expressly in the U.S. Constitution.

Self-Determination: Barack Obama supports the principle of tribal self-determination, with recognition that the
federal government must honor its treaty obligations and fully enable tribal self-governance.

Consultation and Inclusion: In furtherance of the government-to-government relationship, Barack Obama will
include tribal leadership in the important policy determinations that impact Indian Country. Obama will appoint
an American Indian policy advisor on his senior White House staff so that Indian Country has a direct interface
at the highest level of the Obama Administration. In addition, Obama will host a White House “Tribal G8” – an
annual meeting with Native American leaders to develop a national Indian policy agenda.

Honoring the Trust Responsibility: Barack Obama recognizes that honoring the government-to-government
relationship requires fulfillment of the United States’ trust responsibility to tribes and individual Indians. More
specifically, Obama is committed to meaningful reform of the broken system that manages and administers the
trust lands and other trust assets belonging to tribes and individual Indians. Further, he is committed to
resolving equitably with both tribes and individual Indians litigation resulting from the past failures in the
administration and accounting of their trust assets.

HEALTH CARE: The Indian Health Service estimates that it receives only 55 percent of the federal funding it
requires. Federal per-capita funding for Indian health care amounts to about half of the federal per capita health
funding for federal prisoners. Indians are the most at-risk minority group for health problems like diabetes,
which they suffer from at a rate 249 percent higher than the national average. Moreover, Indians have the
nation’s highest death rates for tuberculosis and suicide. After Haiti, men on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud
Reservations in South Dakota have the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere.

Indian Health Services: Barack Obama voted in the Senate to provide an additional $1 billion for IHS to
address these disparities. Additionally, he was an original cosponsor of the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act of 2007 which mandates modernization of the Indian health care system and strengthens urban Indian
health facilities. Obama has fought against the Bush Administration’s attempt to eliminate urban health care for
Indians not living in reservation communities. Obama opposed a federal land acquisition program that would have
diverted funds from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians and the Alcohol and Substance Abuse
program. Obama supports sufficient funding for IHS and proper staffing and maintenance for IHS facilities.

EDUCATION: Education is the key to improving the lives of Native Americans and empowering tribal
nations to build a better future. Educational policies in the 1970s attempted to reverse past federal policies
aimed at eradicating Native American languages and cultures, but Native Americans still suffer from some of
the lowest high school graduation and college matriculation rates in the nation. We must continue to honor our
obligations to Native Americans by providing tribes with the educational resources promised by treaty and
federal law.

COMMUNITIES

Indian Language Education: Tribes are struggling to preserve their languages. It is estimated that by 2050
only 20 of the over 500 Native languages once spoken will remain. Research shows that instruction in tribal
language increases Native American academic performance in other areas like math and science. Barack Obama
supports funding for Native language immersion and preservation programs.

No Child Left Behind: The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is the right one – ensuring that all children
meet high education standards – but the law has significant flaws that need to be addressed, including in Indian
Country. Unfulfilled promises, ineffective implementation, and shortcomings in the design of the law itself have
created countless obstacles for tribal educators. Barack Obama would fund No Child Left Behind and reform
the law to better incorporate Title VII, the law’s Indian, Hawaiian, and Alaskan education provision. Obama’s
plan would provide greater flexibility in integrating Native languages, cultures, and communities into school
programs in a manner consistent with principles of tribal sovereignty.

Early Childhood Education: Research shows that half of low-income children start school up to two years
behind their peers in preschool skills and that these early achievement gaps continue throughout elementary
school. Barack Obama supports increasing funding for the Head Start program, including the American Indian
and Alaska Native Head Start Programs, to provide American Indian preschool children with critically
important learning skills. He also appreciates the role of parental involvement in the success of Head Start and
has called on states to replicate the Illinois model of Preschool for All. Tribes should also be given the
opportunity to implement culturally appropriate versions of this program.

Indian School Construction: Many government-funded Indian schools are dilapidated, and many are simply
too small to meet the needs of growing Indian populations. A safe, comfortable place to learn is critical to
receiving a proper education. Barack Obama is committed to repairing and building Indian schools.

Tribal Colleges: Tribal colleges have played a critical role in improving the lives of Native Americans. Obama
supports increased funding for operations and facility construction, as well as the removal of bureaucratic
impediments so tribal colleges can thrive.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND CULTURAL PROTECTION

Cultural Rights and Sacred Places Protection: Native American sacred places and site-specific ceremonies
are under threat from development, pollution, and vandalism. Barack Obama supports legal protections for
sacred places and cultural traditions, including Native ancestors’ burial grounds and churches.

ECONOMIC & INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: Native Americans experience some of the most
severe socioeconomic conditions in the United States. Poverty and its effects are pervasive, with more than
quarter of all Native Americans living in poverty and unemployment rates reaching 80 percent on some
reservations. Obama’s experience as a community organizer working in poor neighborhoods plagued by high
unemployment has taught him that there is no single solution to community poverty. Therefore, he supports
using a comprehensive approach that includes investment in physical, human and institutional infrastructure,
increased access to capital, the removal of barriers to development, and above all, authentic government-to-
government relationships between the federal government and tribes.

Minimum Wage: Barack Obama believes that people who work full time should not live in poverty. In 2007,
Obama supported legislation that increased the Federal minimum wage for the first time in 10 years. Even
though the minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009, the minimum wage’s real purchasing power will
still be below what it was in 1968. As president, Obama will further raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour
by 2011, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers can
earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation,
and housing – things so many people take for granted.

Housing: The federal government has a moral and legal responsibility to assist tribes in providing housing. Yet,
Native Americans suffer from some of the worst housing conditions in the nation. Some 14 percent of all
reservation homes have no electricity, and on some reservations, as many as 20 individuals are forced to live in
a single-family home. Barack Obama supports increased funding for the Indian Housing Block Grant and other
Indian housing programs as well as improving the effectiveness of these programs.

Gaming: The Supreme Court has upheld the right of tribes, as sovereign entities, to operate gaming operations
on Indian reservations. A total of 225 of the 558 federally recognized Indian tribes operate gaming facilities,
creating 670,000 jobs nationwide and paying $11 billion to the federal and state governments through taxes and
other revenue. The vast majority of Indian gaming operations are small enterprises providing jobs to tribal
members. Because most tribes continue to suffer from high rates of poverty and unemployment, Barack Obama
believes that gaming revenues are important tribal resources for funding education, healthcare, law
enforcement, and other essential government functions.

Energy: Tribal nations have joined in America’s quest for alternative, renewable energy. Because of their rural
land bases and access to natural resources, many tribes have made great strides in economic development in the
energy sector. Tribes have successful operations producing gas, solar, and wind energy. In addition to
harnessing and producing energy, tribes have an interest in energy rights-of-way. Barack Obama encourages
energy companies and Indian tribes to negotiate in good faith to ensure tribes receive just compensation and in
furtherance of carrying sustainable energy to all communities.

WOMEN’S HEALTH: Indians are often subject to unusually harsh conditions when it comes to women’s
health. A recent study by Amnesty International details the alarming rates at which Native women are subject to
violence. The report states that one in three American Indian women will be raped in their lifetime, and they are
more than three times as likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in America.

Reproductive Health: In the past, IHS has been criticized for performing forced sterilizations of Indian
women. More recently, many Native women have been pushed to receive one type of contraception instead of
more suitable alternatives. Although these women often have no alternative to IHS, the program often does not
provide them with adequate reproductive health care, and many women are often denied equal access to birth
control, and prenatal care. Barack Obama supports the reproductive health rights of American Indian women,
and supports ensuring that they receive equal opportunities to make healthy reproductive choices.

Violence against Women: Violence in Indian country is committed at alarmingly high rates, and all too often
Indian women are the victims. Medical facilities are few and far between, and are often not adequately prepared
to deal with assault victims. Also, because of the unique jurisdictional scheme on reservations, law enforcement
can be slow and difficult to come by. If the perpetrator is non-Indian, then the tribe does not have jurisdiction
over the crime. This is alarming when more than 86 percent of assaults against Indian women are committed by
non-Indians. State and federal law enforcement officials are often far removed from the situation, and the tribes
are left without the authority to protect their people. Barack Obama will reexamine the legal framework that
allows such injustices, and supports empowering tribes to combat violence against Native women irrespective
of whether the perpetrators are Indian or non-Indian.

Law Enforcement: Barack Obama also supports fully funding the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program that many tribal law enforcement agencies have come to rely upon. He also recognizes the
important role tribal courts play on the reservation. Obama will continue to support additional resources to
strengthen tribal courts as well as correction by statute of the jurisdictional gaps that currently inhibit tribes’
ability to protect their communities.

Detention Centers: There is a demonstrable need for facility improvements and expansions of detention
centers in Indian Country. Barack Obama understands that federal funding of such improvements is essential to
enable tribe’s to effectively protect their communities.

METHAMPHETAMINES: In a 2006 survey, 74 percent of tribal law enforcement officials reported
methamphetamines to be the leading threat to their tribes’ livelihood. The same survey reported dramatic
increases in cases of domestic violence, child neglect, sex crimes, and weapons charges.

Combat Meth Act of 2005: Barack Obama supported the Combat Meth Act of 2005, major parts of which
became law in 2006. The act puts federal funds into the fight against methamphetamine, provides assistance to
children affected by meth abuse, and places restrictions on the sale of the ingredients used to make the drug.

Tribal empowerment: Barack Obama believes that funding tribal police programs and tribal courts and
resolving longstanding jurisdiction issues will enable tribal authorities to deal more effectively with the causes
and effects of this and other crime problems on Indian land.

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Native Americans serve in the armed forces at a higher rate than any other minority
group in America. Native Americans have served in every war, and their special place in American military
history is widely recognized. The first woman to die in combat in the Iraq war was a young Native American
woman. World War II’s Codetalkers are the most celebrated examples of how Indians have been critical to the
success of American efforts overseas. As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Obama
supports several Veteran measures, including the sheltering and rehabilitation of homeless veterans, securing
veterans’ benefits, and easing service members’ transition back into society.

HUNTING AND FISHING: Hunting and fishing are important to many tribes’ diet, culture, and spirituality.
Protecting hunting and fishing rights ensures that tribes are able to carry on those aspects of their traditional
way of life.

Fishing Rights: The fishing rights of Indian tribes are guaranteed not only by 150 year-old treaties, but by the
Supreme Court’s affirmation of the Boldt decision as well. It is our shared duty to uphold these obligations and
protect fisheries in such a manner that allows tribal and non-tribal fishing to continue into the future.

The path to equitable fishery management is paved with good science. Barack Obama supports initiatives to
improve the science and our understanding of our nation’s fish stocks. Through improved science, we can better
guide decisions about how to protect the health of fish stocks, and, in turn, ensure a better, more secure and
predictable future for our nation’s fishermen.

“We’ve got to make sure we are not just having a BIA that is dealing with the various Native American tribes;
we’ve got to have the President of the United States meeting on a regular basis with the Native American
leadership and ensuring relationships of dignity and respect.”

Barack Obama, Elko, Nevada
January 18, 2008
More on President Obama's statements on Native American rights at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/firstamissues

at 4:22 PM

By Russell Means
Lakotah Republic

The inaugural address is THE most important speech a President EVER makes. Billions of People look at it. The speech is written over a period of many weeks by a whole team of writers. It is edited and re-edited. Each word and each phrase is scrutinized so as to not offend anyone. Click to View the VIDEO.

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers.” He has placed our successful AND peaceful way of life and Spirituality into the category of “Non-Believers!”

Then he uses the phrase “the lines of tribes shall soon dissolve.” What does he mean? Certainly, NOT the tribes of Israel. Who, but the American Indians are referred to as Tribes? We are the ONLY ones.

Obama’s “Final Solution” to the centuries-old “Indian Problem” is total dissolution. Click to View the VIDEO.
http://www.russellmeansfreedom.com/?p=817&preview=true

.

at 1:53 PM

Call Out by Seneca, Keepers of the Western Door: Sunday, January 25th 2009, Noon. All welcome to hear and learn the issues. Cattaraugus [Route 438 and NYS Thruway or Interstate I-90]

Mohawk Nation News

Jan. 23, 2009. The Seneca People are inviting all our brothers, sisters, friends, allies and supporters to join us in Cattaraugus. The gathering will feature food, music, speakers and a bonfire. Heated shelter will be available. Bring blankets, cameras, phone cards, warm clothes, shoes, folding chairs, walkie-talkies and so on. Also signs, banners and flags indicating support for Ongwehonwe sovereignty.

The gathering will be a show of unity and solidarity to defend our inherent power to conduct trade free from intervention by colonial New York State.

New York State Governor David A. Paterson signed on December 15, 2008 an illegal document designed to destroy the economies of eleven Ongwehonwe communities by imposing illegal taxes and cutting off supplies to our traders. The scheme is scheduled to come into effect on February 13, 2009.

Paterson’s action has caused State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the enforcement of this highly questionable pretense at a “law”. A hearing is set for January 27th 2009 to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued against NYS to stop it from implementing this questionable measure.

NYS has refused to pay for its use of our land under the 1954 agreement for the Interstate 90 easement that cuts through our Territory. Because of this the agreement is no longer in effect. NYS is trespassing. To assert our authority over our territory we are working on a system of tolls on the Thruway through Irving. The Seneca tribal courts are working on declaring the thruway as an invasion of sovereign Seneca territory.

The Seneca People are always ready to work cooperatively with New York State. We don’t understand why NYS has chosen to abuse us. Previous conflicts between us and NYS have always ended in the Governors reversing their illegal positions and acknowledging our sovereignty. Most NYS legislators are ready to violate our sovereignty while independent polls indicate that 70% of the people of NYS support legality, fair play and decent treatment of everyone, including us.

The Seneca are petitioning U.S. President Obama to respect the Canadaigua Treaty of 1794 and to protect us from crimes that NYS is attempting to commit. Please help us support Seneca sovereignty and the rule of law.

Contact Seneca Nation at 716-532-4900 and comments can be posted on www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com
Posted: MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org ; IMF mschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ;
“Kathryn Grant Madigan, President, NYS Bar Association, 1 Elk St., Albany, N.Y. 12207 318-463-3200 %Andrew R. Bush, Director, arush@sysba.org; Governor David A. Paterson, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224, 518-474-8390

at 1:11 PM

IS THE PROPOSED DESERT ROCK PLANT DEAD?

IT IS TIME FOR THE NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL TO GIVE UP

By Elouise Brown
Dooda (NO) Desert Rock

On Thursday, January 22, 2009 Ron Curry, the New Mexico Environment Department Secretary, announced that the Appeals Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decided to grant review of New Mexico’s appeal of the grant of an air quality permit for the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant. In doing so, Secretary Curry said, “This is a major victory for New Mexico and for clean air. The federal Environmental Appeals Board recognized the negative effect this facility will have on air quality in the region. This decision is great news for our state. This would not have happened unless the EAB recognized there are significant problems with this permit.”

On January 7, 2009 the Region 9 EPA office withdrew part of the Desert Rock permit for reconsideration of the issue of “whether the permit should contain an emissions limitation for carbon dioxide.” Earlier, on November 13, 2008, the Environmental Appeals Board made a decision on the Deseret Power Electric Cooperative project at Bonanza, Utah that the EPA should have considered whether capping carbon dioxide emissions should be required. New Mexico has argued that carbon dioxide should be reduced by the “best available control technology” (BACT), and we agree. The EPA Appeals Board confirmed sending that part of the Desert Rock permit back to reconsider after public notice and an opportunity to comment.

In other words, the Desert Rock power plant is dead!

The Navajo Nation Council established the Dine Power Authority on January 19, 1996 for the specific purpose of the “development of a major coal-fired, mine-mouth steam electric generating station to be located within the extended boundaries of the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico” (in the words of the creation statute). That was before the U.S. Supreme Court determined that carbon dioxide is an “air pollutant” under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and EPA was ordered to address that fact.

The question of whether the Navajo Nation should grant rights-of-way for the proposed power plant will be before the Navajo Nation Council this coming week. The reality is that Desert Rock will not go forward. Accordingly, the Council should vote the rights-of-way resolution down and dissolve the Dine Power Authority. Enough of the People’s money has been wasted on backing loans to crooks and ventures that have not gotten off the ground, and the Navajo Nation is nowhere near being “shovel ready” for monies to revive the economy.

It is time for the Council to exercise prudence.

Photo: Elouise Brown of Dooda Desert Rock and Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network at the United Nations in New York in April. 2008, opposing the power plant. Courtesy photo Dooda Desert Rock.

at 11:53 AM

Quanah Parker Brightman shares this article with Censored News about his Great Great Grandfather Henry Kingman and Kingman's father Dogs Back. Dogs Back was one of the few who died when the people killed Custer.

The Real Lakota

I knew Harry Kingman ever since I can remember. He was a survivor of Custer's Last Stand and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He was a close friend of the Schutterle family and he often told the story which is the Lakota tradition. Harry has been gone for over 50 years, but his memory is still fresh in my mind. I can't forget people like him. I will share what I remember about this wonderful man.

Harry was ten when Custer and his soldiers rode into the camp. He said he hid behind some bushes because everybody knew the soldiers killed women and children. The theory was that nits grew into lice.
After the battle, Harry found his father, Dog's Back, had been killed in the defense of his people. He learned it really did take a village to raise a child.
Although Custer and all his soldiers were killed, the Lakota's understood they were able only to postpone total disaster. When the fighting was over, they had to flee from the United States to seek freedom in Canada. Harry told of the hunger and misery all, even the smallest children, had to endure in the desperate struggle for survival. Their retreat to Canada was long, hard and few survived it.
Years later, after they were allowed to return to their birth land, the Kingman family settled on the west side of the Missouri River which was on the east side of the Cheyenne River Reservation and near what is now called the Four Bears area.
It happened to be my grandfather homesteaded almost directly across the river from the Kingman family. So, my father knew them since he was about 10 years old. That would be about 1911.
Harry would often cross the river when the ice was thick and hunt rabbits on the east side of the river since the forest was thicker and the rabbits more plentiful. Dad said he used to follow Harry when he hunted. Harry carried an old muzzle loader rifle and used black power because it was

cheaper. Dad said when Harry would pull down, aim and fire, there was sure to be a rabbit kicking in the snow after the smoke cleared.
Over the years the Kingman and Schutterle families grew to be close friends. As it ended, Agness, Harry's daughter, came to be my godmother. Her only son was in Tennessee and my mother had died so we became just like mother and son when she was in her 90's. We would visit and she would pour her heart out and I would learn.
When Agness died at 96, I helped carry her tiny little body to its final resting place on a gumbo ridge in LaPlant. I always go to visit her when I am in the area. Her grave is now grown over with buffalo grass and other plants of the prairie and there is little trace of her existence.
The last time I saw Harry was at a pow-wow at the old Cheyenne Agency camp grounds, now under the waters of the Ohae Dam - or is it the damn Oahe. That was in the 50's.
It was the final evening of the dances and the air was filled with the smoke of campfires. The smell of fresh cut buffalo meat hung on racks managed to slip between the campfire smoke and fill the remaining space.
There had been great anticipation for the arrival of Harry, and his reverence hung on the tongues of everyone. Suddenly it got quiet with only the yelps of the young dogs and the cries of a few infants to be heard. Finally, I saw him coming. Harry was dressed up in his eagle feather bonnet, beads, moccasins and breast plate made of real bones. Everything was perfectly traditional and authentic.
It wasn't just his walk I recognized. Harry liked to smoke and had a distinctive cough. All these years and I still hear it in my mind.
The dance went on into the night. Harry danced and coughed throughout the evening. I watched in awe as he pranced around the willow cooler. That is the way I will always remember Harry. It got late and I had to get back on my side of the river.
The Lakotas had suffered a lot, but they were clearly resilient. The officials of the United States were the terrorists then. They used small pox infested blankets for biological warfare and wiped out people by the thousands.
Washington forced the Lakota into a style of government they did not understand. The government officials put them on permanent disability on lands that could no longer support them because the buffalo were gone. They seldom got the relief they were promised. Their lands and natural resources were gobbled up by a nation pushing west.
All the Lakotas ever wanted was to be free. The price for that freedom was unaffordable.

United Native Americans Inc.
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Pinole, California 94564
(510)758-8160 or (510)672-7187
Since 1968.
Join us
at
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at 11:01 AM

Please double click on image to enlarge.

at 11:00 PM

Photo by Carl Bad Bear Sampson
Articles from Google Breaking News

According to the environmental impact study, the mine would require pumping 50,200 acre-feet of groundwater—or more than 16 billion gallons—over a roughly eight-year period. Groundwater at Shoshone Wells would fall more than 200 feet.

Critics question water, access at disputed NV mine
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 5 hours ago Some Western Shoshone and the environmental group Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking a preliminary injunction in US District Court to halt at least part ...
Western Shoshone protest Nevada gold mine, return to court
MSNBC - 15 hours ago (AP) -- Western Shoshone tribal members will be back in a Reno courtroom Wednesday trying to persuade a federal judge to halt at least part of a huge gold ...
Hearing begins in Reno on disputed gold mine
MSNBC - 15 hours ago Western Shoshone tribal members packed a Reno courtroom Tuesday, trying to persuade a federal judge to halt at least part of a huge gold mine they claim ...

at 8:08 PM

Peltier calls niece about attack, remains in solitary confinement

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

CANAAN, Penn. -- Leonard Peltier was jumped and severely beaten by a gang after being transferred from a prison in Lewisburg to Canaan on January 13. The family, however, was not notified by the prison and received the information by way of a letter from Peltier. Peltier, 64, was placed in solitary confinement.
"Once Mr. Peltier arrived at the Canaan prison facility, he was jumped by younger inmates, severely beaten, put in solitary confinement and placed upon meal restrictions despite his having diabetes and other medical conditions," the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee said in a statement.
"The family has requested copies of the video tapes of that incident to no avail. It is as if the whole scenario was contrived to detract from the fact that Mr. Peltier has been a model prisoner having more than enough points to qualify for parole," LPDOC said.
Micheal Kuzma, an attorney for Leonard Peltier's defense, described the attack on Peltier in prison, during an interview with American Indian Airwaves on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Kuzma said Peltier's sister Betty Peltier-Solano, executive coordinator of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee,received a letter from Peltier, but was never notified by prison officials of the attack. Peltier was transferred from Lewisburg to Canaan prison during the week of Jan. 12th and attacked on the 13th, by other inmates.
Kuzma said, "According to the letter, he thinks he might have a concussion. His middle finger on his left hand is either broken or badly injured. He has a large bump near his right wrist. The right side of his rib cage and chest are in pain. He also has a bruise on the right side of his chest. He also has a bruise on his left knee, and is suffering from headaches. These headaches are a direct result of the Jan. 13 beating."
American Indian Airwaves is produced by Corey Dubin, Marus Lopez and Larry Smith in Los Angeles/Santa Barbara. http://www.kpfk.org/programs/43-american-indian-airwaves.html
Peltier called his neice, Kari Ann Cowan, from the prison on Jan. 22. During the live online NAMAPAHH Blog Talk Radio hosted by Robin Carneen, Cowan relayed the information. It was the first phone call Peltier was allowed since the prison transfer and beating. Listen to the show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/NAMAPAHH_Radio
During the call to Cowan, Peltier said he will not be allowed "out of the hole" and in the general population.
Peltier said Canaan is a tough place, where gangs are being brought in. "He is one of the oldest ones there," Cowan said. "He will not be allowed back in the general population or he will be jumped."
Cowan said the FBI did tell Peltier that he was the victim in the attack, which she said was filmed on camera.
Peltier said he was set up in the attack. "It was a cold blooded setup," Cowan said. She said he did not know his attackers. "He has never seen his attackers before."
Peltier said he will be allowed only one phone call every 30 days.
Cowan said she is hopeful that President Obama will work "nation to nation" with the Turtle Mountain Chippewas to bring Peltier home to North Dakota.
"We have to push for his transfer, he is not safe there."
During the NAMAPAHH Radio program tonight, Peltier's attorney was called by the prison. The prison will not allow his attorney to speak to him tomorrow.
"It is outrageous," said attorney Michael Kuzma of Buffalo, N.Y, concerning the co-counsel the prison has denied entry to speak with Peltier.
"What are they hiding?" Kuzma said they have hidden documents before, but not Leonard.
"Now they are hiding Leonard Peltier."
Recently, the amount of hate mail circulated on the Internet regarding Peltier and appeals for his release has increased and could have played a role in the attack on Peltier.
The LPDOC said, "Retired, former and actively employed FBI agents have taken action against the release and parole of Leonard Peltier time and again. While it is their right to speak their opinion, it is not right to do so on federal time and at the taxpayer’s expense. Their letters, writings, articles, books, protests, outcries and interviews concerning Mr. Peltier, are a conflict of interest and tip the scales against him unfairly. In addition, it is certainly questionable as to the timing of a letter written by a former FBI Agent to Representative John Conyers and the beating Mr. Peltier received at Canaan."
The LPDOC said the attack on Peltier comes on the heels of the FBI's recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit Peltier as a model prisoner. "Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator. It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage "it takes an Indian to catch an Indian," LPDOC said.
As of December, Peltier is eligible for a full parole hearing. The hearing will likely occur this year, but no date has been announced, the LPDOC said.
In 1978, the US government made an attempt to assassinate Peltier, offering another Indian inmate at Marion prison with Leonard Peltier, a chance at freedom. The man was Standing Deer. Standing Deer befriended Peltier in prison and exposed the plot to assassinate him. Standing Deer was murdered in Houston after his release from prison.
LPDOC said, "Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange for a chance at freedom. When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He also began to speak on Leonard's behalf until his murder six years ago today. Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him," the LDPOC said. (An interview with Ben Carnes on Standing Deer and Peltier can be heard at Censored News Blog Radio or at Earthcycles on Longest Walk.)
AIM West plans a protest in solidarity with Peltier to draw attention to the attack and call for his release on Friday in San Francisco. http://www.aimwest.info/
For more information: LPDOC: http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/
Updates at Censored News: http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

at 3:59 PM

President Obama says the Freedom of Information Act is back.
Who wants to go first?

President Barack Obama:
"I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive Order 13392 of December 14, 2005. I also direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to update guidance to the agencies to increase and improve information dissemination to the public, including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such guidance in the Federal Register."
Read full statement: http://www.narconews.com/Issue55/article3347.html

at 12:49 PM

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

CANAAN, Penn. -- Leonard Peltier was jumped and beaten after being transferred from a prison in Lewisburg to Canaan on January 13. The family, however, was not notified by the prison and received the information by way of a letter from Peltier. Peltier, 64, was placed in solitary confinement and it is not known if he has received medical attention.

"Once Mr. Peltier arrived at the Canaan prison facility, he was jumped by younger inmates, severely beaten, put in solitary confinement and placed upon meal restrictions despite his having diabetes and other medical conditions," the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee said in a statement ."The family has requested copies of the video tapes of that incident to no avail. It is as if the whole scenario was contrived to detract from the fact that Mr. Peltier has been a model prisoner having more than enough points to qualify for parole," LPDOC said.

Recently, the amount of hate mail circulated on the Internet regarding Peltier and appeals for his release has increased and could have played a role in the attack on Peltier.

The LPDOC said, "Retired, former and actively employed FBI agents have taken action against the release and parole of Leonard Peltier time and again. While it is their right to speak their opinion, it is not right to do so on federal time and at the taxpayer’s expense. Their letters, writings, articles, books, protests, outcries and interviews concerning Mr. Peltier, are a conflict of interest and tip the scales against him unfairly. In addition, it is certainly questionable as to the timing of a letter written by a former FBI Agent to Representative John Conyers and the beating Mr. Peltier received at Canaan."

The LPDOC said the attack on Peltier comes on the heels of the FBI's recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit Peltier as a model prisoner. "Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator. It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage "it takes an Indian to catch an Indian," LPDOC said.

In 1978, the US government made an attempt to assassinate Peltier, offering another Indian inmate at Marion prison with Leonard Peltier, a chance at freedom. The man was Standing Deer. Standing Deer befriended Peltier in prison and exposed the plot to assassinate him. Standing Deer was murdered in Houston after his release from prison.

LPDOC said, "Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange for a chance at freedom. When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He also began to speak on Leonard's behalf until his murder six years ago today. Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him," the LDPOC said. (An interview with Ben Carnes on Standing Deer and Peltier can be heard at Censored News Blog Radio or at Earthcycles on Longest Walk.)

Micheal Kuzma, an attorney for Leonard Peltier's defense, described the attack on Peltier in prison, during an interview with American Indian Airwaves on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Kuzma said Peltier's sister Betty Peltier-Solano, executive coordinator of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee,
received a letter from Peltier, but was never notified by prison officials of the attack. Peltier was transferred from Lewisburg to Canaan prison during the week of Jan. 12th and attacked on the 13th, by other inmates.

Kuzma said, "According to the letter, he thinks he might have a concussion. His middle finger on his left hand is either broken or badly injured. He has a large bump near his right wrist. The right side of his rib cage and chest are in pain. He also has a bruise on the right side of his chest. He also has a bruise on his left knee, and is suffering from headaches. These headaches are a direct result of the Jan. 13 beating."
Listen (last 20 minutes of program) on Jan. 21 at:
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/xml/americanindian.xml

AIM West plans a protest in solidarity with Peltier to draw attention to the attack and call for his release on Friday in San Francisco. http://www.aimwest.info/

For more information: LPDOC: http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/

Updates at Censored News: http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

at 11:32 AM

Peabody Energy's Plan to Reopen Black Mesa Coal Mine Threatens Navajo and Hopi Communities, Religious Freedom, Water Supplies, and Wildlife; Will Worsen Global Warming
Diverse Coalition of Tribal and Conservation Groups Appeal Peabody’s Illegal Permit for Black Mesa Coal Mine
BLACK MESA, Ariz.— In the waning days of the Bush administration the Office of Surface Mining hurriedly issued a “Life-of-Mine” permit allowing Peabody Energy to reopen the controversial Black Mesa coal mine in northeastern Arizona . This permit allows Peabody Energy to consolidate the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines into a massive, 65,000-acre mine complex. A diverse coalition of tribal and conservation groups today challenged this permit, citing concerns about air and water pollution, global warming, ground water depletion, and impacts to religious freedom. Read article ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/bushs-parting-dagger-coal-mining-on.html

at 10:59 AM

Address for the First Festival of the Digna Rabia
By Oscar Olivera F.*
January 8, 2009

Brother and Sisters, Compañeras and compañeros:

For me it is an enormous privilege and honor to be able to be here, together with you all in this territory—brown, simple and noble, like its people.
This privilege and honor would not have been possible without that enormous, dignified, enraged and collective effort by thousands of men, women, young people, children and elderly of my people, of our peoples, who don’t just make real history, but who also are the ones who write our history. It would no be possible to be here—nor could the EZLN be seen and felt today as a great example of dignity and hope—without that effort by our indigenous brothers and sisters, by our brothers and sisters from the cities, by our Mexican brothers and sisters.

Read article: http://www.ubnoticias.org/en/article/words-in-the-second-wind

at 10:32 AM

AIM WEST protest in solidarity with Leonard Peltier on Friday in San Francisco

All My Relations, Companeros, Friends in Solidarity,
By Tony Gonzales
In view of what occured Tuesday to our friend, Sun Dance Brother, a GrandFather and Elder, Leonard Peltier, AIM-WEST calls on friends and allies to come out this Friday in San Francisco and demonstrate their solidarity and deep concern for Leonard's life, safety and security. Please to go www.aimwest.info for detailed location and time.Our allies are encouraged to hold rallies and demonstrations in cities across the country, and throughout the world, and register their concern as well, those who know the case of Leonard Peltier's imprisonment these last thirty-three years. This is a moment in time where we can take the opportunity to share with the outside world another example, and further expose the treatment and injustices committed against Indigenous peoples' held hostage by an oppressive government.
Read more:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/aim-west-protest-in-solidarity-with.html

at 9:20 AM

BEWARE “RAHNATAKIAS” – CURE FOR OBAMA FEVER IS “INDIAN” HISTORY

Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

Jan. 21, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama slipped a subtle comment into his inauguration “mind control” speech on January 20th. When Obama defined America as a nation of “Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers”, he deliberately left out Indigenous peoples. We have our value systems. We have our knowledge. He sneaked in the intention to ignore us when he said that “the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve”. To Americans the word “tribe” means the Ongwehonwe. We are the caretakers and trustees of the lands and resources of the world which the New World Order NWO or One World “Government” must steal to control the world. Our role puts us squarely in the path of this grand scheme of a few bankers, the governments they control and their deadly enforcement agencies.
Colonial “band or tribal councils” will be put in charge of indigenous people where possible such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Other Indigenous peoples will be “eliminated” or ignored. It looks like this program will be run by the United Nations “International Department of Indian Affairs” on behalf of the NWO war mongers.
Obama’s main message is, “If you don’t do it the American way, we will crush you”. It is all the more “devious” because it’s coming in this velvet glove that claims that it’s being done in a spirit of cooperation. The real message is, “we will defeat you”. A new disease is being spread called “Obama fever”. The symptoms are flag waving, millions gathering and clapping like a bunch of trained seals and hypnotic sectarian rapping. O-Ba-Ma, O-Ba-Ma! The following are comments by “Native Pride” and MNN Mohawk Nation News:
Tuesday, January 20, 2009: Obama: The New Lincoln? We Hope Not!
As the US crowns its new king, the world looks on with [media guided] hope and wonder. The former Illinois Senator has been compared to one of the most popular US Presidents, Abraham Lincoln who was seen as the Great Emancipator, Freer of the Slaves and the Healer of a Divided Nation. Obama swore his oath of office on Lincoln’s Bible.
Buried in that era of slavery and Civil War are a few chapters of the American “Indian” Holocaust of 115 million, the biggest in all humanity, that began long before Lincoln and continues today. While Mr. Lincoln was earning a fake place in history, he signed the Homestead Act in 1862. This was a law offering huge tracts of our lands to foreign white settlement. It was put through without consultation, without consent and without regard for the rights and needs of our people. Eventually 1.6 million homesteads were granted on our land and 270,000,000 acres of our territories were privatized between 1862 and 1986, which is 10% of all lands in the U.S. In the conflicts that raged over this illegal action, thousands of Ongwehonwe men, women and children were killed and millions of acres of our territories remain unlawfully occupied. This has nothing to do with honesty, courage, fair play and tolerance. Obama’s speech demonstrates clearly his concept of loyalty and patriotism has nothing to do with respect for the Ongwehonwe of Turtle Island and our future generations. [www.nathankramer.com]
Two days after Lincoln signed the “Emancipation Proclamation” in 1863, he signed an order to hang 38 Dakota Sioux in Mankato Minnesota. There were only about 40 adult men of fighting age left out of 400 “prisoners of war”. The U.S. agent refused to feed the Indigenous people and was selling the rations that were meant for them. The men begged for food for their people who were starving to death. He told them to eat grass. They killed him and stuffed his mouth with grass. [Visit www.republicoflakotah.com]
These details of American history are rarely visited. John F. Kennedy basks in the glow as a champion of civil rights. He had no problem violating human rights and the treaty with the Seneca Nation. In 1960 he broke a campaign promise and approved the flooding of thousands of acres of Seneca land and the construction of the Kinzua Dam in upper New York State.
Today New York State has a black Democratic Governor, David A. Paterson. He has just signed an illegal document authorizing the destruction of the existing economies of eleven Ongwehonwe communities in the state. It is obvious the Americans are the big bullies they’ve always been since King Henry VII issued the “Cabot Charter” in 1496. It authorized the capture and plunder of any lands belonging to non-Christian people that might be found. [Avalon.law.yale.edu/15ph_century/cabot01.asp]
Many Ongwehonwe have embraced this new U.S. President Barack Obama. Many of us do not. We hope that he will not earn the traditional title, “Rahnatakias”, which is our word for U.S. President. It means "town destroyer". In 1779 the first President, George Washington, ordered the genocide of all Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois people, our communities and food sources in the lands between Wyoming and the Canadian border. He eliminated over a hundred thousand of us by famine and disease. [www.joycetice.com]
No, Obama is not our president. He is the 44th man to hold the title of Rahnatakias on behalf of the colonists who are occupying our territories. The valid nation-to-nation relations with Ongwehonwe are always a low priority or non-existent for any colonial administration.
People are looking to Mr. Obama for a solution. The true test of his promise of change will come in the treatment of the Ongwehonwe. Is he going to be another two faced reformer, a Washington, a Lincoln or a Kennedy, who preaches equality and freedom while crushing us under his heel? We refuse to be put under colonial “Federal Indian Law” headlocks.
The U.S. will not stop its decline by continuing to dispossess and oppress us. They have to meet us on the original nation-to-nation terms. We have never surrendered our jurisdiction over ourselves or our resources or our territories. They have to acknowledge the crimes of the past. They have to reign in their colonizing beast. They have to stop feasting on the dead bodies of our ancestors. They have to stop dancing so hard on our lands and resources that they starve and suffocate the generations to come.
Native Price and MNN Mohawk Nation News Comment to: www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News Staff, www.mohawknationnews.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “United States of America” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois

at 5:02 PM

Sample letter for US Attorney General for Eric Holder (or other person confirmed)
January 21, 2009

Eric H. Holder, Attorney General Designate
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Re: Leonard Peltier #89637-132

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am writing today to provide you with a number of serious concerns stemming from the case of Mr. Leonard Peltier and explain how this case impacts all US citizens.

• Mr. Leonard Peltier, is an American Indian that has been imprisoned since 1976, convicted based on fabricated testimony, circumstantial evidence, extraordinary FBI influence and falsified test results. (Appellate Court findings)

• He was sentenced to two life sentences for “aiding and abetting” when two other persons tried for the same exact crimes were found not guilty because the jury said they were acting in self defense based on the climate of fear pervading the Pine Ridge Reservation at the time. Whom was he aiding and abetting?

• No federal employee was ever investigated or found responsible for the killing of Joe Stuntz, who was killed at the same Jumping Bull property in 1975. Further there are a number of American Indians that were killed under questionable circumstances on Indian reservations or at Wounded Knee in 1973, while no federal official have ever been charged with their deaths.

• Since 1976 repeated requests for files concerning Leonard Peltier, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Freedom of Information Act have been unsuccessful. The typical response has been that the files were misplaced or lost, and sometimes after years of waiting the FBI responds with a vague “no”.

• Title 18 Section 4206 (d) states that “Any prisoner serving a sentence of five years or longer shall be released on parole after serving 2/3 of each consecutive term or after serving thirty years of each consecutive term including any life term”. Congress has stated and the Courts have ruled in other cases that Title 18 of the United States Code 4205(a) means that time served is equal to ten years in the case of a life sentence. The law says that a prisoner serving a life term shall be released on parole after serving thirty years if they were not released on parole after 20 years.
The most a prisoner would serve is 30 years. This has held true except in the case of Leonard Peltier who has been in prison for 33 years.

• In late 2008 the Turtle Mountain Reservation passed a resolution calling for Leonard Peltier’s release into their custody. Leonard Peltier is an enrolled member of Turtle Mountain. Tribal officials at Turtle Mountain were willing and able to meet almost any given conditions set forth by the Parole Board or the Bureau of Prisons, however they were not given the opportunity to even discuss this alternative, their status as a sovereign nation was totally ignored and Leonard Peltier transferred to Canaan, PA on January 12th, 2009.

• Beginning in October 2008, friends, family and supporters have repeatedly e-mailed, called, and written to the Bureau of Prisons asking for consideration in Leonard Peltier’s imminent transfer. While one recognizes that there are many factors for the BOP to consider, we only asked that he either be transferred to Turtle Mountain facility or closer to home. Instead Mr. Peltier was placed in a facility even further from his home and family making it unreasonably burdensome for them to visit him.

• Once Mr. Peltier arrived at the Canaan prison facility, he was jumped by younger inmates, severely beaten, put in solitary confinement and placed upon meal restrictions despite his having diabetes and other medical conditions. The family has requested copies of the video tapes of that incident to no avail. It is as if the whole scenario was contrived to detract from the fact that Mr. Peltier has been a model prisoner having more than enough points to qualify for parole.

• Retired, former and actively employed FBI agents have taken action against the release and parole of Leonard Peltier time and again. While it is their right to speak their opinion, it is not right to do so on federal time and at the taxpayer’s expense. Their letters, writings, articles, books, protests, outcries and interviews concerning Mr. Peltier, are a conflict of interest and tip the scales against him unfairly. In addition, it is certainly questionable as to the timing of a letter written by a former FBI Agent to Representative John Conyers and the beating Mr. Peltier received at Canaan.

It is apparent to me and many others that there are numerous violations of Mr. Peltier’s civil, constitutional, and human rights in the federal government’s quest to punish someone for the deaths of two FBI agents.

Justice has not been fair or blind to Mr. Leonard Peltier who has spent more than half of his life in prison. He is at 64 years old, in failing health and his life expectancy in prison is shortened greatly. And so I ask for your swift review of his case and release him so that he can spend the rest of his natural life with friends and family. The release of Leonard Peltier will go far in repairing the faith of the American people in the justice system and restore hope to many American Indians who otherwise have given up on the federal government’s promises. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cc:

Mr. President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Complaints
Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Room 4706
Washington, D.C. 20530

Harry J. Lappin, Director
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

Kathleen M. Kenney
Assistant Director/General Counsel,
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

Morris L. Thigpen, Sr., Director
National Institute of Corrections
320 First St., NW,
Washington, DC 20534

All Possible Media Outlets – Television, Radio, Print
All Elected Federal Officials

at 9:36 AM

Support Religious Freedom for the Western Shoshone
Stop Barrick Gold from Destruction of the Sacred Mt. Tenabo
Demonstration and Trial to Protect Native Religions continues
Jan. 21 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse
(at Liberty and S. Virgin St. - Reno)

Stay for the Injunctive Hearing in the courthouse

From the Western Shoshone

Photo of Wednesday morning protest by Carl Bad Bear Sampson

The second day of a new President will see the second day of the Western Shoshone asserting their right to freely practice their religion. Roger Flynn of the Western Mining Action Project, council for the Western Shoshone, will be arguing for the second day in US Court to prevent further destruction of sacred Mt. Tenabo at the hands of Barrick Gold Corporation. Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop mining activities at Mt. Tenabo before its special spiritual energy is obliterated.

The court heard compelling testimony from Western Shoshone as to the special significance of Mt. Tenabo in their religious practice, and how the proposed mine would deny this practice. Witnesses elaborated on the special spiritual power of Mt. Tenabo and its healing waters, which would be lost if this mine goes forward. Lawyers with Barrick Gold attempted in cross-examination to undermine the special significance of Mt. Tenabo, and will be presenting witnesses on January 21st. The trial is expected to continue through Thursday January 22nd.

Western Shoshone will again lead a peaceful and respectful demonstration in front of the Federal Building just prior to the hearing from 8:00 AM to 8:45 AM with native drumming, song, and prayer. A similar demonstration is anticipated for Thursday morning as well – for as many days as the hearing is in play.

“Denabo (correct spelling) has significance for Western Shoshone, it means the writing on the rock walls of the mountain (White Cliffs) put there by our Creator. We go to pray to our Creator to give us strength to keep us going. How can we pray to our creator when the place in being blown up?” - Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone Grandmother

Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution.

This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AS WE AWAIT THE COURT’s DECISION
We need supporters at both of the following locations:

1. Attend the Public Demonstration to Protect Native Spiritual Areas and Human Rights in front of the Courthouse on S. Virginia Street beginning at 8 am on both Jan. 20th and 21st.

2. Attend the Mt. Tenabo encampment and Arbor Vigil beginning Thursday Jan. 15th and lasting through the following week of hearings at the gathering area on the Southeast flank facing Grass Valley, Nevada. (Contact wsdp@igc.org for directions and supplies needed).

3. We also need people to write requests to President (elect) Barrack Obama and his transition team. This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now and a commitment to good faith talks with the Western Shoshone must be made.

download flyers and handbills for distribution

sample letter
Background:
Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution. Barrick has carried out many violations of Human Rights, and abusively opposed the struggle of Indigeous lands and people. Barrick is now beginning construction of an open pit cyanide mine directly on Mt. Tenabo – a Western Shoshone spiritual and cultural area. Shoshone opposition to this mine has been ongoing and has gained global attention. Barrick has failed to recognize these concerns and has instead attempted to divide the Shoshone people, giving money and gifts to the communities, and using its media channels to state that all the people are happy and are supportive of their operations. The time is critical now as Barrick has already received full approval from the U.S. Dept. of Interior and has begun ripping out the Pinon forest and digging the pit to create its “Cortez Hills Expansion Mine."

This mine will cause permanent destruction of the cultural and spiritual practices of the Western Shoshone. Mt. Tenabo has been, and continues to be, used by Western Shoshone people as a central part of their religious practices and world view. Western Shoshone visit the mountain and the valley below (the location of the mine pit) for prayer ceremonies, gathering of sacred plants, fasting, and vision quests, among other uses. The Mountain also contains Western Shoshone gravesites. All of these values and uses will be destroyed by the Project. In addition, the massive pumping of groundwater will likely dry up sacred springs and streams on and around Mt. Tenabo.

No big mining project in Nevada has ever been denied by the United States. This is one must be stopped.

The details of the mine would:

＊ Disturb 6,792 acres of land, including a heap leach and waste rock facilities.

＊ Blast the new Cortez Hills mine Pit approximately 900 feet in length, 6,400 feet in width, and a maximum depth of 2,200 feet.

＊ Pump groundwater from around the pit with an average dewatering rate of approximately 1.8 billion gallons per year for ten years.

＊ Create a drop in the water table of 1,600 feet surrounding the pit, decreasing to 10 feet at a 3-4 mile radius of the pit.

＊ Potentially impact 50 springs and seeps in the area.

＊ Of the 11 non-Cortez Gold Mine water rights impacted, only one is expected to recover fully within 100 years after dewatering ceases

Again, we need your help to tell Barrick to stop presenting false information to the media making the Shoshone people and the violations of this mine to the lands and sacred areas invisible to the public. At this time we need your support to stop mining at Mount Tenabo and to tell the U.S. there must be a full review of the human rights violations of the Shoshone people. We ask for your support in this urgent case which has common elements with indigenous peoples and mining abuses around the world.

Some important talking points to consider in your Request:

＊ The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Decision 1/68) has specifically raised concerns regarding the mining threat to Mt. Tenabo. The United States is in further violation of this Decision in approving this project – the Obama administration needs to understand this now before taking office.

＊ The Bush administration has strong connections to the mining industry and this decision approving the “Cortez Hills Expansion” before the new administration comes in is highly questionable.– President Obama should demonstrate the change he is committed to and respect Western Shoshone spirituality and the need to stop this destructive project and uphold the human rights and Treaty rights. Request that the Obama Team meet immediately with Western Shoshone representatives to investigate further the human rights violations.

＊ Barrick is well-aware of the concerns and the Mt. Tenabo mine proposal has been specifically criticized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

* From the BLM’s own analysis, "Although not quantifiable, the project area and the region surrounding the project area have been home to local Indian groups for centuries, and the resources in the area, the value placed on those resources, and potential effects to those resources are intertwined with the culture of local Indian tribes more so than any other population in close proximity to the project area." - Final Environmental Impact Statement

The details of the mine would:

＊ Disturb 6,792 acres of land, including a heap leach and waste rock facilities.

＊ Blast the new Cortez Hills mine Pit approximately 900 feet in length, 6,400 feet in width, and a maximum depth of 2,200 feet.

＊ Pump groundwater from around the pit with an average dewatering rate of approximately 1.8 billion gallons per year for ten years.

＊ Create a drop in the water table of 1,600 feet surrounding the pit, decreasing to 10 feet at a 3-4 mile radius of the pit.

＊ Potentially impact 50 springs and seeps in the area.

＊ Of the 11 non-Cortez Gold Mine water rights impacted, only one is expected to recover fully within 100 years after dewatering ceases

at 11:51 PM

UPDATE
Pursuant to Betty Ann Peltier Solano's letter about her brother,
let the Bureau of Prisons know that the public will hold them
accountable for the safety and wellbeing of Leonard Peltier.
Please include the following information in appeals for his safety:
Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP-Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
PO Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472
--------------------------------
Warden Ronnie R. Holt, Warden
USP-Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
3057 Easton Turnpike
Waymart, PA 18472
Phone: 570-488-8000
Fax: 570-488-8130
E-mail address: CAA/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

D. Scott Dodrill, Director
Northeast Regional Office
Federal Bureau of Prisons
2nd & Chesnut Streets., 7th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-521-7301
E-mail: NERO/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

Harley G. Lappin, Director
Bureau of Prisons
U.S. Department of Justice
320 First Street, NW, Room 654
Washington, DC 20534
Phone: 202-307-3250
Fax: 202-514-6878

Ask President Obama to investigate this incident:

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

-----

Time to set him free... Because it is the RIGHT thing to do.

Friends of Peltier
http://www.FreePeltierNow.org

URGENT! Leonard Peltier's Safety in Jeopardy!

Dear LP Supporters,

I am so OUTRAGED! My brother Leonard was severely beaten upon his arrival at the Canaan Federal Penitentiary. When he went into population after his transfer, some inmates assaulted him. The severity of his injuries is that he suffered numerous blows to his head and body, receiving a large bump on his head, possibly a concussion, and numerous bruises. Also, one of his fingers is swollen and discolored and he has pain in his chest and ribcage. There was blood everywhere from his injuries.

We feel that prison authorities at the prompting of the FBI orchestrated this attack and thus, we are greatly concerned about his safety. It may be that the attackers, whom Leonard did not
even know, were offered reduced sentences for carrying out this heinous assault. Since Leonard is up for parole soon, this could be a conspiracy to discredit a model prisoner. He was placed in solitary confinement and only given one meal, this is generally done when you won't name your attackers; incidentally being only given one meal seriously jeopardizes his health because of his diabetes. Prison officials refuse to release any info to the family, but they need to hear from his supporters to protect his safety, as does President Obama. His attorneys are trying to get calls into him now.

This attack on LP comes on the heels of the FBI's recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit LP as a model prisoner. Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator. It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage "it takes an Indian to catch an Indian". In 1978, they made an attempt to assassinate him through another Indian man who was also at Marion prison with LP. But Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange FOR A CHANCE AT FREEDOM. When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He
also began to speak on Leonard's behalf until his murder six years ago today. Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston, TX and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him.

We are aware that currently, the FBI is actively seeking support for his continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier and also also seeking support from Native People. So please be aware, and keep Leonard in your prayers. The FBI is apparently afraid of the impact we are having. If they will set him up to blemish his record just before a parole hearing, what will they do when it looks like his freedom will become a reality? We need to make sure that nothing happens to him again!

Please write the President, send it priority or registered mail. Email to Change.gov or email President Obama. Call your congressional representatives and write letters, not email, to
them. Do what you can to get the word out to insure that LP is receiving adequate medical attention for his injuries.

I am asking you, supporters of Leonard and advocates of justice at this time to help. I don't know what else to do. Please Help!

Thank you Betty Peltier-Solano Executive Coordinator Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
Also call and request Leonard be treated with dignity and
respect. Canaan Federal Prison
570-488-8000 Friends of Peltier
http://www.freepeltiernow.org/
07/21/09, Wednesday, on American Indian Airwaves
"Post Inaugurational Programming and Leonard Peltier Update"
Part 1: Honorable Debra Sanchez (Chumash Nation), Los Angeles County Supreme Court Judge, Ron Andrade (La Jolla Nation) Director at Indian Commission for Los Angeles County, and Chris Peters (Pohlik-lah/Karuk Nations), Executive Director of the Seventh Generation Fund For Indian Development ( http://www.7genfund.org/) join us for this segment of today's show to discuss their experiences of attending President Barak Obama's Inauguration, and what this presidency means for indigenous peoples and their respective First Nations.
Part 2: Micheal Kuzma, former Leonard Peltier's Defense Attorney, provides listeners with an update Leonard Peltier's case, his recent transfer to Canaan Federal Penitentiary, 3057 EASTON TURNPIKE, WAYMART, PA 18472, 570-488-8000 and how he was beaten when recently transferred.

American Indian Airwaves regularly broadcast every Wednesday from 3pm to 4pm (PCT) on KPFK FM 90.7 in Los Angles, FM 98.7 in Santa Barbara, and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp, & Itunes at http :// www.kpfk.org , and American Indian Airwaves now broadcast every Saturday from 3pm to 4pm (ECT) on WCRS 98.3/102.1 in Columbus, OH. Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/aiairwaves
SPECIAL NOTICE: weekly shows can now be heard on the KPFK web site ( http://www.kpfk.org ) under "audio archives" located on the left. Scroll down and click on American Indian Airwaves.

at 9:55 PM

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

NOGALES, Ariz. -- Homeland Security destroyed 69 graves of Tohono O'odham ancestors in one location alone while constructing the US/Mexico border wall south of Tucson, in violation of all federal laws created to protect American Indian remains.
Homeland Security and US courts waived all federal laws to protect Native American graves and the environment and then allowed for border wall construction at San Pedro near Nogales. The graves were violated and the details were not made public.
Although the archaeologist exposing the desecration only revealed it as a rare find, for O'odham, these are the graves of their ancestors which were destroyed.
Archaeologist Maren Hopkins said the village is believed to have existed from around A.D. 700 to 1200.
"Archaeologists found: 23 pit houses, 14 possible pit houses, 97 thermal pits, a number of storage pits, five dog burials and 69 human burials. As is customary in this region, the human remains have been repatriated to the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation," according to the Nogales International newspaper.
In October 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff pushed ahead with the fence, winning federal court approval to waive federal laws.
In another location in May of 2007, the contractor Boeing dug up O'odham ancestors on Tohono O'odham Nation land, southwest of Sells, Arizona. Although the Tohono O'odham Nation did not make the desecration public, O'odham Ofelia Rivas exposed the destruction of O'odham graves. The ancestors were reburied at this location.
The U.S. has not revealed the total number of Native American graves that were dug up and destroyed while building the US/Mexico border wall after the US waived all federal laws. The border divides the traditional homelands of many Indigenous Peoples, including the Kumeyaay in California, the Cocopah and Tohono O'odham in Arizona and the Tigua at Ysleta del Sur in El Paso, Texas. Near Brownsville, Texas, the Lipan Apache continue to fight the seizure of lands by Homeland Security for the border wall.
The region south of Tucson, where 69 graves were desecrated by Homeland Security, is the same region where the Israeli Apartheid corporation Elbit Systems was subcontracted by Boeing for border spy technology. Elbit also performed work on the Apartheid Wall of Israel and provided unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the US border in southern Arizona.
Those drones were based at Fort Huachuca, where protesters have protested the US Army Intelligence Center's role in torture in Iraq and Afghanistan. Army personnel responsible for torture in Abu Ghraib were trained at Fort Huachuca. Earlier, Fort Huachuca was the location of the publication of the School of Americas' torture training manuals, made public in 1996, responsible for the murder, rape and torture of masses in Central and South American in the 1980s and 1990s. An unknown number of Indigenous Peoples and farmers were tortured and executed as their lands were seized for corporations.

Read more of the Nogales International article:
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/articles/2009/01/20/news/doc4975f30441897554681215.txt

at 6:10 PM

Photos by Carl "Bad Bear" Sampson of the protest in front of federal court in Reno today to protect Western Shoshone's sacred Mount Tenabo. Thank you!

at 2:49 PM

Photos copyright Lisa Wolf. Western Shoshone protest Barrick Gold's destruction of sacred Mount Tenabo, outside federal court in Reno today. Special thanks to Lisa Wolf for sending today's photos to Censored News. Please read articles below.

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Hearing begins in Reno on disputed gold mine
Tuesday, January 20 2:28 p.m.

By SANDRA CHEREB Associated Press Writer
Western Shoshone tribal members packed a Reno courtroom Tuesday, trying to persuade a federal judge to halt at least part of a huge gold mine they claim would desecrate a sacred landmark.

Lawyers for Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and the federal government disagreed with their claims that mining on Mount Tenabo in northeast Nevada would prevent the Shoshone from practicing their religion.Roger Flynn, an attorney representing members of the Western Shoshone and the environmental group Great Basin Resource Watch, told U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks that Barrick's Cortez Hills Project near Crescent Valley some 250 miles east of Reno would cause irreparable harm to the mountain.

Western Shoshone and environmentalists are seeking a preliminary injunction to block construction of the planned 6,700-acre project until a trial can be held on the merits of the tribe's claims.Among other things, they argue the U.S. Bureau of Land Management used flawed environmental studies when it approved the project, which would include a 900-acre open pit, 2,000 feet deep.

Opponents also claim the approval violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act because the say the mine will prevent Western Shoshone from practicing their religion.

Shawn Collins, a member of the Te-Moak band of Western Shoshone and a third generation miner, said his ancestors were born on Mount Tenabo, which he described as the source of the family's "puha," or life force.A heavy equipment operator for Newmont Mining Corp., Collins said he does not oppose mining, but objects to the work planned on Tenabo.Collins testified he also was concerned about groundwater levels that environmental studies projected could drop more than 200 feet if the mine goes forward.The water, he said, "is like the veins in our body ... the earth blood.""If you do pump the water, you're taking the life from the mountain," he said.

Francis Wikstrom, a lawyer for Barrick, said in his opening statement that the mountain has been mined for more than century, and the mine would not prevent Western Shoshone from practicing their beliefs.Western Shoshone "consider all of the land, all of the air, all of the water sacred," he said, not just Mount Tenabo."They can conduct religious services anywhere," he said.Wikstrom said stopping the mine would cause economic harm to the company and workers.

Outside the federal courthouse, about three dozen Western Shoshone and others demonstrated. Some beat drums while others held signs reading, "Gold is not worth more than water," and "Gold is not above life and culture."

at 12:22 PM

Censored News Radio: Western Shoshone and Paiute
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Western Shoshone and Paiute protest gold mining and cultural artifacts abuse

Today's special broadcast on Censored News Blog Radio focuses on protests in Nevada. On Saturday at Pyramid Lake, about 150 Paiutes and supporters gathered to protest where the Marina operator has held Paiutes and their cultural items "hostage."
Today in Reno at the federal courthouse, Western Shoshone protest to halt Barrick Gold mining on Mount Tenabo, as a hearing is scheduled to begin.
The show includes an interview with Carrie Dann by Larry Smith, about sacred Mount Tenabo, rebroadcast with permission from American Indian Airwaves. On the telephone with Censored News Radio, Wayne Burke, Paiute, describes the protest at Pyramid Lake to protect the cultural treasures, during the last 10 minutes of the 90 minute show.
Thanks to Pura Fe for today's "Stand Up" song. Pura Fe told Censored News, "The Female rapper is Leilani from Seattle. She's Kwaquiootle and Samoan and then the dude rapper is called "Native Prophecy" form a hip hop group named Antithesis from the Bay area. I met Antithesis during the Longest Walk Benefit concert. And the wild electric guitar solo is Danny Godinez, who is Azteca. He also helped me with the backup vocals and recorded me and my slide guitar and drum loop." http://www.purafe.com/ or www.myspace.com/purafe
Today's show includes music and audio by Janice Gardipe, Paiute/Western Shoshone, Longest Walk singers at Cahokia Mounds, Keith Secola at AIM West Reunion, Floyd Westerman, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson's ''Music For Native Americans," Mary Youngblood, and a statement by Bill Means on Raymond Yellow Thunder. Thanks to Earthcycles for recordings of Janice Gardipe, Longest Walk singers and Bill Means.
Barrick, the world’s largest gold mining company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, plans to construct and operate the mine, known as the Cortez Hills Expansion Project, said the Western Shoshone Defense Project.
The Project area is located entirely within the territory of the Western Shoshone Nation, recognized in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The Mine would blast and excavate a new massive open pit on Mount Tenabo over 900 acres in size, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. It would include several new waste disposal and processing facilities (including a cyanide heap-leaching facility), consisting of approximately 1,577 million tons of waste rock, 53 million tons of tailings material, and 112 million tons of spent heap leach material. The Mine would include an extensive groundwater pumping system to dewater Mount Tenabo (in order to keep the open pit and mine workings dry during mining) and associated water pipelines that will transport the pumped water away from Mount Tenabo. In total, the mine would permanently destroy approximately 6,800 acres land on and around Mount Tenabo, over 90% of which is classified as federal “public” land.
Listen at Censored News:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

at 7:27 PM

Julie Cavanaugh-Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project (775) 397-6726
Dan Randolph, Great Basin Resource Watch, (775) 348-1986

Barack In, Barrick Out!

On Inauguration Day, U.S. Court to Hear Shoshone Request to Stop Mine Expansion at Spiritual Mountain

By Western Shoshone Defense Project
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

RENO, Nev. -- At 9:00 a.m. this morning (PST), Tuesday, the Federal District Court in Reno, Nevada will begin a two day injunction hearing to protect the world-recognized Shoshone spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo from what would be one of the U.S.’ largest open pit cyanide heap leach gold mines. Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of the mine, wholly owned and operated by Canadian multinational mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch filed suit immediately and a partial temporary restraining order was put in place in early December. Mt. Tenabo is home to local Shoshone creation stories, spirit life, medicinal, food and ceremonial rocks and plants and continues to be used to this day by Shoshone for spiritual ceremonies and cultural practices. Over the years, tens of thousands of individuals and organizations from across the United States and around the world have joined with the Shoshone and voiced their opposition to this mine –in fact, the mine is being referred to as the “most opposed mine in the world”.

Barrick, the world’s largest gold mining company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, plans to construct and operate the mine, known as the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The Project area is located entirely within the territory of the Western Shoshone Nation, recognized in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The Mine would blast and excavate a new massive open pit on Mount Tenabo over 900 acres in size, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. It would include several new waste disposal and processing facilities (including a cyanide heap-leaching facility), consisting of approximately 1,577 million tons of waste rock, 53 million tons of tailings material, and 112 million tons of spent heap leach material. The Mine would include an extensive groundwater pumping system to dewater Mount Tenabo (in order to keep the open pit and mine workings dry during mining) and associated water pipelines that will transport the pumped water away from Mount Tenabo. In total, the mine would permanently destroy approximately 6,800 acres land on and around Mount Tenabo, over 90% of which is classified as federal “public” land.

“Martin Luther King had a dream, Shoshone people have a nightmare. Barack is being inaugurated, Shoshone are being intimidated. Shoshone religion lives not in a building, but in a clean environment..” Says Larson Bill, Vice-Chairman of the South Fork Western Shoshone. “Mt. Tenabo is a specific area of spiritual significance for thousands of years hopefully our new President will support a change in favor of protection. Barack In. Barrick Out.” “There are dozens of active gold mines on Western Shoshone lands already, there is no need for this one, which is clearly immoral and irresponsible. The public should be aware that Nevada is not a waste land, but is the home of ranchers, sportsmen, fishermen and homesteaders that have enjoyed the lands alongside the Shoshone people for generations. We have been clear in our opposition to this mine and while Barrick trys to cloud the real issues with gifts and money, we continue to oppose this project – they have not bought our people, the traditions nor the lands of the Shoshone.” he adds.

The proposed mine area has been found by the BLM, in repeated ethnographic studies, as being of extreme spiritual and cultural importance to the Western Shoshone. One report says: “Mt. Tenabo is one of a system of three mountains in the (Western Shoshone) homeland, … it is also considered a traditional locus of power and source of life, and figures in creation stories and world renewal. As the tallest mountain in the area – the most likely to capture snow and generate water to grow pinyon and nourish life – it is literally a life-giver. Water is to earth what blood is to the body, and these subterranean waterways are likened to the earth’s arteries and veins.”

Just before Thanksgiving, a group of Shoshone grandmothers came together and held a Day of Resistance at the mountain. “The whole area is a temple”. Stated one of the grandmothers, Mary McCloud. The grandmothers’ will be coming together again at 8 a.m. each morning before the Federal Court House in Reno. Religious leaders from different faith backgrounds will be joining the Shoshone in the public demonstrations. The address is the Bruce D. Thompson Federal Building, 400 S. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada.

While the hearings are held in Reno, back at the mountain, some of the Shoshone men have built an arbor where they will be holding a 24 hour encampment and watch throughout the court hearing.

The plaintiffs are being represented in court by Roger Flynn and Jeffrey Parsons of the non-profit legal firm, the Western Mining Action Project, which specializes in mining law.

For more information on the Western Shoshone land rights issues, Cortez Hills Project, Mount Tenabo, and the legal challenge go to www.gbrw.org.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AS WE AWAIT THE COURT’s DECISION: We need supporters and media at both of the following locations:
1. Attend the Public Demonstration to Protect Native Spiritual Areas and Human Rights in front of the Courthouse on S. Virginia Street beginning at 8 am on both Jan. 20th and 21st.
2. Attend the Mt. Tenabo encampment and Arbor Vigil which began Thursday Jan. 15th and is lasting through the following week of hearings at the gathering area on the Southeast flank facing Grass Valley, Nevada. (Contact wsdp@igc.org for directions and supplies needed) (Beowawe/Crescent Valley exit of I-80, then south through Crescent Valley, turn left before Pipeline mine – head towards Grass Valley through Cortez Canyon, after leaving canyon look for large green army tent about a mile after exiting the canyon). Please remember NO Drugs, Alcohol or Firearms and – Respect the Mutual Court Order to refrain from disturbing the mine employees as they refrain also from disturbing us – stay away from operations at a minimum of 200 yards. The Court hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday is important and we must respect the mutual temporary restraining order. Report in to Mike Miller upon arrival.

at 9:00 AM

Maya Angelou: King and Malcolm killed once they included all races of oppressed people in the movement

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

In tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., on his day, Censored News quotes Maya Angelou, from an interview with Rosa Guy:

"There was a qualitative growth in Martin Luther King. To me, having just to see him grow from the American Civil Rights Movement, the passive resistance, the non-violent resistance, and to see him grow into one going to Africa, meeting with Nkrumah, return, broadening his sight to include all oppressed people (which is why he was killed, of course), so that his poor people's march said, 'I want Black people, poor white, native American, Mexican American, Asian American; I want everybody who is poor, downtrodden and oppressed, come. We will sit in Washington.' I believe this is why Malcolm was killed. When Malcolm said, 'I no longer believe that by nature a person is born evil. I have seen blue-eyed, blond-haired men who I can call brother with a straight face and an open heart.' The minute he said that, he had to be done. If he

had kept narrow, he would have remained, you know?"

Angelou speaks of the movements that followed and how those movements became focused on being "safe," after the massacre of students at Kent State. The women's movement and the free student movement seemed to be safe movements, she said.

"If they were all white, if they were not involved with the Blacks, they thought they wouldn't be killed. And they were right."

From Writing Lives, Conversations Between Women Writers, edited by Mary Chamberlain, Virago Press, 1988.

at 9:56 AM

Paiutes and supporters protested at Pyramid Lake as a non-Indian leasee is holding cultural items hostage. Photos by Carl "Bad Bear" Sampson, Paiute/Western Shoshone

Special thanks to cellphoneographer Carl "Bad Bear" Sampson for providing Censored News with photos and video from the Paiute protest to protect cultural items at Pyramid Lake. Paiute said Pyramid Lake Marina operator Thomas Bobella is holding them hostage or even worse. "My concern is that Mr. Bobella or members of his staff are mishandling them, damaging them or even selling them," says tribal member Wayne Burke. Quote from KOLO TV coverage at: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/37747474.html
Bad Bear has provided Censored News with coverage on the Longest Walk northern route, Peace and Dignity Run in Arizona and now the Paiutes action to protect Pyramid Lake. Thank you!

at 9:29 AM

Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
www.wsdp.org
Contact: Julie Cavanaugh-Bill (775-397-6726), wsdp@igc.org
Dan Randolph (775-348-1986), dan@gbrw.org

Hearing to Stop Further Mining at Tenabo
Demonstration and News Conference to Protect Native Religions
Where: Gordon R. Thompson Federal Bldg. (S. Virginia and Liberty)
When: Tuesday, January 20, 8:00 AM

On this day of the inauguration of a new president with hope for the future we are reminded that the founding fathers of the United States dedicated into our constitution freedom to practice religion as ones tradition required.

Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Federal Court in Reno has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 20th and 21st.

The peaceful and respectful demonstration will open with native drumming, song, and prayer. Western Shoshone elders will speak, and supporting local religious leaders will follow. Just before 9:00 AM the demonstration will close and all supporters will be invited to attend as much of the injunctive hearing as they can in support of religious freedom. There will also be a similar demonstration at the same time on January 21.

“Denabo (correct pronunciation) has special significance for Western Shoshone, it means the writing on the rocks walls of the mountain (White Cliffs) put there by our Creator. We go to pray to our Creator to give us strength to keep us going. How can we pray to our creator when the place is being blown up?” - Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone Grandmother

“When God makes a covenant to provide for human beings, the covenant always includes the land. Our well-being as a species is conditioned upon our capacity to love and care for the land. Native American communities and their spiritual practices have enlightened our way to this love and care.”– John Auer, Reverend First United Methodist Church, Reno NV.

Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution.

This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now.

at 7:08 PM

SHOWDOWN AT THE “WESTERN DOOR”: SENECA V. NEW YORK STATE
Mohawk Nation News

Jan. 16, 2009. The Seneca Nation of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois Confederacy, are demanding that the colonial state of New York stop illegally operating an unlawful business on our territory – which is the Interstate Thruway #90. It is an unlawful business on our land. At the same time NYS is trying to destroy a significant part of the Nation’s economy by imposing illegal taxes. They have no jurisdiction over Ongwehonwe or our territories which is all of New York State and beyond. Every inch of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island, is unsurrendered Ongwehone territory. The U.S. and Canada are colonies that have no land. They are illegal occupiers.
The trusteeship of the territory in the people is affirmed in the constitution known as the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace, which is the true law of the land.
The Seneca Nation and New York State clashed back in 1992 and 1997 leading to civil unrest in the local Seneca communities of Allegheny and Cattaraugus. With a February 13th 2009 deadline looming for collection of taxes on cigarettes sold to Ongwehonwe communities by wholesalers, the Seneca Nation is preparing for another clash with NYS. Speaking for the Seneca of the “Western Door”, Barry Snyder says the people will take any action necessary to protect its people, economy and way of life. In the 1997 clash NYS spent $30 million to bring in heavily armed troopers and tactical squads into our communities. Physical assaults were committed against women, children and men. [Shades of Palestine!] Thruway #90 was closed. Tires were burnt. Charges were laid against some of our people. Then NYS Gov. George Pataki backed off and rescinded any enforcement efforts to collect NYS taxes or impose tax law on us and our land.

The Senecas are now devising a system to collect tolls on the NYS Thruway through Irving. People are being urged to stockpile basic needs. Up to $1 million of Seneca money is being set aside for emergency response. And the Seneca are petitioning U.S. President Obama for federal protection from NY State and respect for our jurisdiction.
To be legal the Thruway requires a license from the Seneca Nation whose territory it’s on. Billions of dollars that should be going to the Seneca are being poured into NYS’s economy. The landowners get nothing. In response to the latest affront to our sovereignty, on April 14, 2007 the Seneca rescinded the 1954 agreement with NYS to use Nation territory for its highway. Outstanding is the compensation for past land use which NYS refuses to pay. Since May 12, 2007, $1 has been assessed on each motorist using the Thruway, leaving NYS $20,247,557 in arrears.
As if that’s not bad enough, to put pressure on us to submit, NYS is once again taking illegal actions to impose an embargo on tobacco products. This is a direct threat to the people who are recovering from the economic devastation imposed on us by the state and federal governments. Since Sullivan destroyed the agricultural industry of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, tobacco has been one of the most successful economic endeavors of our people. It has emerged from our traditional cultivation, trade and commerce traditions. Our people have every right to take all actions necessary to protect and defend our freedom, economy and unsurrendered sovereignty and territories.

The $1 million being set aside for “emergency response personnel” is to provide access to medical care, ensure that children get to school, and that all residents can go about their daily lives without interference. People are stockpiling everything. The history of our relations with NYS has been troubled from the start. NYS has tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce twice in the last few years. The only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst.

The people have instructed their Planning Department to build a system to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway. The Seneca also intend to increase the current per-car toll to $2. They also filed an action in the Seneca tribal courts to declare that the Thruway is an illegal invasion of sovereign Seneca territory.

The Seneca are asking U.S. President Obama to respect the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 to provide protection for the Seneca from the crimes being committed against us by NYS. Obama probably does no know the history of our relationship with the British and U.S. invaders. We never agreed to become British subjects, or NYS or U.S. citizens. Our relations have been highly irregular especially since the American Revolution of 1776. It’s time to stop the abuse and set things right.

On December 15, 2008 NYS Gov. David A. Paterson illegally signed a law to subjugate the commerce of all Ongwehone communities under the authority of NYS. We don’t know what theory of legality he is operating on. You can be sure it’s not based on human equality or the principles set out in international law and the U.S. Constitution, for that matter. NYS would never abide by Canadian laws if Canada ever chose to colonize New York. By a temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, his law cannot be enforced. A hearing is set for January 27, 2009 to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued against NYS to stop it from implementing illegal policies.

The actions by NYS Gov. Paterson look like a deliberate attempt to fuel anti-Ongwehonwe sentiment. He is drawing a line where none should be. He is refusing to respect legitimate Ongwehonwe jurisdiction and boundaries. There’s no sign that NYS intends to respect the law. NYS is on a collision course as before. NYS should know by now that the Seneca will not stand down. We will unite and fight for the right to support our families and to protect our homes and territories. [Send your comments to www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com]
Karakwine, MNN Mohawk Nation News Staff, www.mohawknationnews.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org ; IMF mschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ;

at 11:40 AM

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

Photo of California border wall by Jay Johnson Castro, Jr.

Julia Good Fox, Pawnee, describes the parallels between the ongoing genocide in Palestine, carried out by Israel with US support, and the genocide of Native Americans by the colonizers of the US. Good Fox describes the theft of land by the invaders, human rights abuses and complicit media. Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache, describes the onslaught of Homeland Security at the Texas border as another Apartheid Border Wall is under construction, during the broadcast on Censored Blog Talk Radio.
Good Fox, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine as a member of the Third World Delegation, which was joined by a Quaker delegation. In this segment, rebroadcast with permission from American Indian Airwaves, Good Fox describes her first reality in Israel and the militarization of the region, with young armed soldiers a constant presence.
Good Fox was a member of the Third World Delegation, which she describes as a delegation of color. She said people of color received different treatment from the soldiers. "Our group was often singled out."
During the fact-finding mission, Good Fox was present at the Apartheid Wall, where every Friday, Palestinians protest. "We were tear-gassed," Good Fox said. Although there were European politicians present with her, the group was shot at with metal rubber-tipped bullets.
While there, Good Fox remembered her own Native American ancestors and what they experienced at the hands of the soldiers. She listened to the stories of the Palestinians who were forced from their villages and farmlands by Israel. In a wave of memory, she realizes that this is what happened to her own Native American ancestors. She realized what they would have felt when they were forced to leave their homes for the last time.
"We saw the similarities when we were in Palestine."
Good Fox said in the ongoing invasion of Palestine, she feels outrage "that Israel, with United States sponsorship, is allowed to get away with this."
The one-sided media in the United States is also responsible, she said.
While in Palestine, she watched as people were taking care of their parents, going to school and trying to live normal lives. They were defenseless against Israel, she said.
"It is the largest prison in the world. The people are just sitting ducks for this big show of military might."
While meeting with people forced to evacuate their villages, she listened to the stories of farmers and villagers now barred from their village by a fence. Where they once farmed, Israelis now picked fruits. In another community, she describes the destruction of a Palestinian village, in ruins now, where Israelis swim.
"It was the only time I broke down and cried." Walking on that trail, she remembered her own Native American ancestors as they were forced out of their villages and took one last look.
Good Fox describes the human rights violations being committed by Israel with support from the United States, including the murder of women and children, high fatalities, incarcerations and destruction of property. There is also a great deal of environmental damage.
Of Palestine and Indian Country, she said there are striking similarities of abuse. It centers on land theft. The shrinkage of Palestinian controlled land follows the pattern of the US seizure of American Indian lands. There is another similarity as well. Palestinians are discouraged from speaking Arabic in public, as Native Americans have long been forced to stop speaking their own languages.
Families have also been separated by the Apartheid Wall cutting through their own territories, in the same manner that the US/Mexico Apartheid Wall is now slicing through the Indigenous communities along the US/Mexico border, including the homelands of the Tohono O'odham. Both Apartheid Walls, in Palestine and the US, now violate Indigenous patterns of migrations.
Referring to Elbit Systems in Israel, she points out that the same corporation constructing the Apartheid Wall in Israel now has a contract for construction of the US/Mexico Border Wall.
Good Fox points out the media coverage of Palestinians has failed to report the struggle for self-determination and sovereignty. In a similar manner, the media has also been unsympathetic to Native Americans' struggle for self-determination. Another parallel between Palestine and Indian Country are the "unrecognized villages," in northern Palestine. In the same manner, some Indian Nations in the US remain unrecognized by the US government.
There are similarities as well between the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). In Palestine, she said common men and women distrust the PNA and said it is not serving the best interest of the Palestinians.
In Palestine, she said people wake up one day and there is a bulldozer at the door. Homes are being demolished and the homes are all gone within a week.
Good Fox hopes now, following the fact finding mission, there will be an exchange of information about cultures, with Native Americans sharing their own experiences with the ongoing colonization.
But it is clear that what is happening in Palestine is genocide, she said.
Good Fox also describes how the colonization continues in the United States, with American Indian children forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the US in schools. In Oklahoma, there is a movement by SPIRIT, which opposes elementary schools that compel Indian children to dress up like the pioneers who stole Native American lands. Meanwhile, in the US, schools continue to promote a curriculum of genocide and colonization.
Good Fox points out that Native Americans are taught to identify with the US and military. At the same time, many Native Americans know little of their own treaties and cultures.
"That is a form of genocide."
Although the United Nations has issued documents recognizing the rights of Palestinians, there has been no enforcement.
Good Fox encourages those who want to understand the parallels between the genocide in Palestine and Indian Country, to undertake research, become involved in human rights, read literature and become informed from sources outside the mainstream press. There are also internships and opportunities to volunteer in Palestine. Further, Native Americans can have dialogues with their own tribal councils and share facts.
In closing, Good Fox points out that the millions of dollars that the US is sending to fund Israel's military could be used at the university where she is a professor, Haskell Indian Nations University, and other schools. It could also be used to fund the Indian Health Service.
Pointing out the high rate of Native Americans joining the US military, she asked, "Why are we supporting the US military?"
In the next segment of the Censored Blog Talk Radio program, Margo Tamez speaks on the Texas border wall under construction and Homeland Security, rebroadcast with permission from Kehaulani Kauanui's radio show, Indigenous Politics. Tamez describes Homeland Security's attempts to seize her family's land in south Texas and how Lipan Apache women have risen up to fight the US oppression. The complete Tamez interview can be heard at http://www.indigenouspolitics.com/
American Indian Airwaves is produced by Coyote Radio, with hosts Corey Dubin, Marcus V. Lopez, and Larry Smith.
Listen to Julia Good Fox and Margo Tamez on Censored Blog Talk Radio at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell

at 9:21 PM

Al Jazeera has obtained the names of 210 of the young victims

Photo on right: Four-year-old shot: "I saw him [the solider] hiding next to the shop. I looked around for my mum, then he shot me. One bullet hit my hand and the other penetrated my stomach through my back."

27/12/2008
Ibtihal Kechko Girl 10
Ahmed Riad Mohammed Al-Sinwar Boy 3
Ahmed Al-Homs Boy 18
Ahmed Rasmi Abu Jazar Boy 16
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Halabi Boy 18
Tamer Hassan Al-Akhrass Boy 5
Hassan Ali Al-Akhrass Boy 3
Haneen Wael Mohammed Daban Girl 15
Khaled Sami Al-Astal Boy 15
alaat Mokhless Bassal Boy 18
Aaed Imad Kheera Boy 14
Abdullah Al-Rayess Boy 17
Odai Hakeem Al-Mansi Boy 4
Allam Nehrou Idriss Boy 18
Ali Marwan Abu Rabih Boy 18
Anan Saber Atiyah Boy 13
Camelia Al-Bardini Girl 10
Lama Talal Hamdan Girl 10
Mohammed Jaber Howeij Boy 17
Nimr Mustafa Amoom Boy 10
29/12/2008
Ismail Talal Hamdan Boy 10
Ahmed Ziad Al-Absi Boy 14
Ahmed Youssef Khello Boy 18
Ikram Anwar Baaloosha Girl 14
Tahrier Anwar Baaloosha Girl 17
Jihad Saleh Ghobn Boy 10
Jawaher Anwar Baaloosha Girl 8
Dina Anwar Baaloosha Girl 7
Samar Anwar Baaloosha Girl 6
Shady Youssef Ghobn Boy 12
Sudqi Ziad Al-Absi Boy 3
Imad Nabeel Abou Khater Boy 16
Lina Anwar Baaloosha Girl 7
Mohammed Basseel Madi Boy 17
Mohammed Jalal Abou Tair Boy 18
Mohammed Ziad Al-Absi Boy 14
Mahmoud Nabeel Ghabayen Boy 15
Moaz Yasser Abou Tair Boy 6
Wissam Akram Eid Girl 14
30/12/2008
Haya Talal Hamdan Girl 8
31/12/2008
Ahmed Kanouh Boy 10
Ameen Al-Zarbatlee Boy 10
Mohammed Nafez Mohaissen Boy 10
Mustafa Abou Ghanimah Boy 16
Yehya Awnee Mohaissen Boy 10
Ossman Bin Zaid Nizar Rayyan Boy 3
Assaad Nizar Rayyan Boy 2
Moaz-Uldeen Allah Al-Nasla Boy 5
Aya Nizar Rayyan Girl 12
Halima Nizar Rayyan Girl 5
Reem Nizar Rayyan Boy 4
Aicha Nizar Rayyan Girl 3
Abdul Rahman Nizar Rayyan Boy 6
Abdul Qader Nizar Rayyan Boy 12
Oyoon Jihad Al-Nasla Girl 16
Mahmoud Mustafa Ashour Boy 13
Maryam Nizar Rayyan Girl 5

01/01/2009

Hamada Ibrahim Mousabbah Boy 10
Zeinab Nizar Rayyan Girl 12
Sujud Mahmoud Al-Derdesawi Girl 10
Abdul Sattar Waleed Al-Astal Boy 12
Abed Rabbo Iyyad Abed Rabbo Al-Astal Boy 10
Ghassan Nizar Rayyan Boy 15
Christine Wadih El-Turk Boy 6
Mohammed Mousabbah Boy 14
Mohammed Iyad Abed Rabbo Al-Astal Boy 13
Mahmoud Samsoom Boy 16
Ahmed Tobail Boy 16
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Kafarneh Boy 17
Hassan Hejjo Boy 14
Rajeh Ziadeh Boy 18
Shareef Abdul Mota Armeelat Boy 15
Mohammed Moussa Al-Silawi Boy 10
Mahmoud Majed Mahmoud Abou Nahel Boy 16
Mohannad Al-Tatnaneeh Boy 18
Hani Mohammed Al-Silawi Boy 10
01/01/2009
Ahmed Al-Meshharawi Boy 16
Ahmed Khodair Sobaih Boy 17
Ahmed Sameeh Al-Kafarneh Boy 18
Asraa Kossai Al-Habash Girl 10
Assad Khaled Al-Meshharawi Boy 17
Asmaa Ibrahim Afana Girl 12
Ismail Abdullah Abou Sneima Boy 4
Akram Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 18
Aya Ziad Al-Nemr Girl 8
Ahmed Mohammed Al-Adham Boy 1
Akram Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 13
Hamza Zuhair Tantish Boy 12
Khalil Mohammed Mokdad Boy 18
Ruba Mohammed Fadl Abou-Rass Girl 13
Ziad Mohammed Salma Abou Sneima Boy 9
Shaza Al-Abed Al-Habash Girl 16
Abed Ziad Al-Nemr Boy 12
Attia Rushdi Al-Khawli Boy 16
Luay Yahya Abou Haleema Boy 17
Mohammed Akram Abou Harbeed Boy 18
Mohammed Abed Berbekh Boy 18
Mohammed Faraj Hassouna Boy 16
Mahmoud Khalil Al-Mashharawi Boy 12
Mahmoud Zahir Tantish Boy 17
Mahmoud Sami Assliya Boy 3
Moussa Youssef Berbekh Boy 16
Wi'am Jamal Al-Kafarneh Girl 2
Wadih Ayman Omar Boy 4
Youssef Abed Berbekh Boy 10

05/01/2009

Ibrahim Rouhee Akl Boy 17
Ibrahim Abdullah Merjan Boy 13
Ahmed Attiyah Al-Semouni Boy 4
Aya Youssef Al-Defdah Girl 13
Aya Al-Sersawi Girl 5
Ahmed Amer Abou Eisha Boy 5
Ameen Attiyah Al-Semouni Boy 4
Hazem Alewa Boy 8
Khalil Mohammed Helless Boy 12
Diana Mosbah Saad Girl 17
Raya Al-Sersawi Girl 5
Rahma Mohammed Al-Semouni Girl 18
Ramadan Ali Felfel Boy 14
Rahaf Ahmed Saeed Al-Azaar Girl 4
Shahad Mohammed Hijjih Girl 3
Arafat Mohammed Abdul Dayem Boy 10
Omar Mahmoud Al-Baradei Boy 12
Ghaydaa Amer Abou Eisha Girl 6
Fathiyya Ayman Al-Dabari Girl 4
Faraj Ammar Al-Helou Boy 2
Moumen Alewah Boy 9
Moumen Mahmoud Talal Alaw Boy 10
Mohammed Amer Abu Eisha Boy 8
Mahmoud Mohammed Abu Kamar Boy 15
Marwan Hein Kodeih Girl 6
Montasser Alewah Boy 12
Naji Nidal Al-Hamlawi Boy 16
Nada Redwan Mardi Girl 5
Hanadi Bassem Khaleefa Girl 13

06/01/2009

Ibrahim Ahmed Maarouf Boy 14
Ahmed Shaher Khodeir Boy 14
Ismail Adnan Hweilah Boy 15
Aseel Moeen Deeb Boy 17
Adam Mamoun Al-Kurdee Boy 3
Alaa Iyad Al-Daya Girl 8
Areej Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 3 months
Amani Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 4
Baraa Ramez Al-Daya Girl 2
Bilal Hamza Obaid Boy 15
Thaer Shaker Karmout Boy 17
Hozaifa Jihad Al-Kahloot Boy 17
Khitam Iyad Al-Daya Girl 9
Rafik Abdul Basset Al-Khodari Boy 15
Raneen Abdullah saleh Girl 12
Zakariya Yahya Al-Taweel Boy 5
Sahar Hatem Dawood Girl 10
Salsabeel Ramez Al-Daya Girl 6 months
Sharafuldeen Iyad Al-Daya Boy 7
Doha Mohammed Al-Daya Girl 5
Ahed Iyad Kodas Boy 15
Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Boy 10
Issam Sameer Deeb Boy 12
Alaa Ismail Ismail Boy 18
Ali Iyad Al-Daya Boy 10
Imad Abu Askar Boy 18
Filasteen Al-Daya Girl 5
Kamar Mohammed Al-Daya Boy 3
Lina Abdul Menem Hassan Girl 10
Unidentified Boy 9
Unidentified Boy 15
Mohammed Iyad Al-Daya Boy 6
Mohammed Bassem Shakoura Boy 10
Mohammed Bassem Eid Boy 18
Mohammed Deeb Boy 17
Mohammed Eid Boy 18
Mustafa Moeen Deeb Boy 12
Noor Moeen Deeb Boy 2
Youssef Saad Al-Kahloot Boy 17
Youssef Mohammed Al-Daya Boy 1

07/01/2009

Ibrahim Kamal Awaja Boy 9
Ahmed Jaber Howeij Boy 7
Ahmed Fawzi Labad Boy 18
Ayman Al-Bayed Boy 16
Amal Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 3
Toufic Khaled Al-Khahloot Boy 10
Habeeb Khaled Al-Khahloot Boy 12
Houssam Raed Sobeh Boy 12
Hassan Rateb Semaan Boy 18
Hassan Ata Hassan Azzam Boy 2
Redwan Mohammed Ashoor Boy 10
Suad Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 6
Samar Khaled Abed Rabbo Girl 2
Abdul Rahman Mohammmed Ashoor Boy 12
Fareed Ata Hassan Azzam Boy 13
Mohammed Khaled Al-Kahloot Boy 15
Mohammed Samir Hijji Boy 16
Mohammed Fareed Al-Maasawabi Boy 16
Mohammed Moeen Deeb Boy 17
Mohammed Nasseem Salama Saba Boy 16
Mahmoud Hameed Boy 17
Hamam Issa Boy 1

08/01/2009

Anas Arif Abou Baraka Boy 7
Ibrahim Akram Abou Dakkka Boy 12
Ibrahim Moeen Jiha Boy 15
Baraa Iyad Shalha Girl 6
Basma Yasser Al-Jeblawi Girl 5
Shahd Saad Abou Haleema Girl 15
Azmi Diab Boy 16
Mohammed Akram Abou Dakka Boy 14
Mohammed Hikmat Abou Haleema Boy 17
Ibrahim Moeen Jiha Boy 15
Matar Saad Abou Haleema Boy 17

09/01/2009

Ahmed Ibrahim Abou Kleik Boy 17
Ismail Ayman Yasseen Boy 18
Alaa Ahmed Jaber Girl 11
Baha-Uldeen Fayez Salha Girl 5
Rana Fayez Salha Girl 12
Rola Fayez Salha Girl 13
Diyaa-Uldeen Fayez Salah Boy 14
Ghanima Sultan Halawa Girl 11
Fatima Raed Jadullah Girl 10
Mohammed Atef Abou Al-Hussna Boy 15

More photos

at 3:42 PM

PM and Ministers Turn Blind Eye to First Nations’ Tar Sands Concerns
MEDIA CONTACTS
Chief Roxanne Marcel – Mikisew Cree First Nation
tel. 780.697.3740 or 780.881.7099
Chief Allan Adam – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
tel. 780.713.1220
George Poitras – Mikisew Cree First Nation
tel. 780.972.0017

FORT CHIPEWYAN, ALBERTA – Canada’s Prime Minister and his ministers are continuing to ignore the concerns of First Nations’ communities being impacted by tar sands development.

“Prime Minister Harper has acknowledged that there are environmental issues from tar sands development, but his government is absolutely failing to take action,” noted Chief Roxanne Marcel of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. “He and his ministers are completely uninterested in hearing our concerns and discussing solutions.”

Federal Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt chose not to contact or meet with either the Athabasca Chipewyan or Mikisew Cree First Nations during a tour to the tar sands north of Fort McMurray on Tuesday that was coordinated by the Oil Sands Developers Group, an industry lobby group. Both First Nations have repeatedly voiced concerns over contamination of the Athabasca River due to tar sands mining and the potential health impacts on downstream communities, which are suffering an unusually high incidence rate of rare cancers

“The industry’s own polling shows that Canadians don’t trust the tar sands industry and it’s no wonder,” said George Poitras, a member of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. “With industry, it’s all about spin and public relations – they do not acknowledge our health concerns and the environmental damage that has already been caused.”

Last week the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) was quoted as saying “We've dropped the ball on getting our message out and communicating. We have not dropped the ball on environmental performance as an industry.” A poll commissioned by CAPP found that 50 per cent of respondents don't believe what oil executives say about tar sands and 44 per cent do not believe information provided by oil companies.

“The federal government is neglecting its environmental responsibilities and ignoring our concerns,” stated Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “When the government fails to engage with First Nations about our concerns, and fails to respect our rights, these things have nowhere to go but the courts.”

In December, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation initiated legal action against the Government of Alberta for failing to fulfill its duty to consult the band prior to selling oil sands permits to Shell Canada and other companies on traditional lands, thereby making the permits invalid.
Join the IEN Newsletter!
Jihan Gearon
Indigenous Environmental Network
Native Energy and Climate Campaign
P.O. Box 2696
Flagstaff, AZ 86003
928.214.8301

at 11:32 AM

Photos by Morning Star Gali, in support of Palestine and calling for justice in the murder of Oscar Grant, shot while handuffed and face down, by a BART police officer.

Read 'Police execution of black youth video-taped,' by Quanah Parker Brightman

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2009/01/oakland-police-execution-of-black-youth.html

at 11:14 AM

The Board: Traumatizing Children, to Keep Us 'Safe'
Watch video:
http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/traumatizing-children-to-keep-us-safe/?emc=eta1

n-to-keep-us-safe/?emc=eta1
JANUARY 14, 2009, 1:03 PM
Traumatizing Children, to Keep Us 'Safe'
By New York Times Editorial Board
Life in the United States in the age of state and local immigration enforcement run amok:
Here is a video from a recent immigrant-suppression sweep by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Ariz. It's painful to watch – two of the victims are young children who have been forcibly separated from their mother, who was turned over to federal immigration authorities.
Immigrant advocates say the sheriff is terrorizing Latino communities with raids like these, and using police-state tactics to stifle criticism. The man on the video who tries to shut the camera down is a member of Sheriff Arpaio's "posse."
More links and comments can be seen at the blog of Stephen Lemons, a Phoenix New Times reporter who has been trying to get the word out about Sheriff Arpaio.
Salvador Reza, a community organizer who shot the video, wrote to us:
"I appreciate if you forward it to people that you may think might get a better picture of the 'hell' we are living here in Arizona. It is getting worse instead of better."
http://www.tonatierra.org/
http://www.puenteaz.org/
NY Times: Video of Police State tactics in Maricopa
Photo: Arpaio protest in Tucson by Brenda Norrell

Special thanks to Juan Reza, for this poem written in response:

COSTLY TOY
by Juan Reza
Little girl, little boy, here’s a toy for you to stop crying while I take your Mama from your side. Can’t you see your crying bothers me? At age two, three, six or seven, you don’t know why I do it? Don’t you understand, she is illegal, dangerous criminal for sure? Don’t cry while I take your mother from you, though it’s sure you won’t be seeing her, who knows for how long - one day, four, six,… months even perhaps.
Don’t ask me profound questions, they bother me. Why I do it, you can’t understand. Now shut up and stop your crying. How dare you? I don’t even analyze them in depth. What can you know about mercenaries – sheriffs, border patrol officers, soldiers, ICE and “intelligence” agents, police, congresspersons, governors, State Department personnel, Visual Media people, authors, ideologues with and without religious titles – associated with and sold-out to interests of the financial elite? “Defenders of the nation, Democracy and liberty, protectors against terrorism and of our Rule and Law” are names by which we call our comforts. It’s my lot to do this ugly part, to cage and separate your mother from you. I have to obey, it’s the correct thing to do”.
We took your mom, but I can’t give you further reasons, just accept, they fit in well “within the current law.” It would cost me far too much right now, time, thinking, unsettling of my conscience, and seeing clearly what I’ve become: a deranged, abnormal being, demon perhaps to some. I must comply, my work requires it. Bills I have to pay. At your tender age of innocence, inseparable from the Divine, I cannot explain to you the logic of taking what’s most sacred and important in your life. Damn…I just don’t want to face it, that which I’ve become: a separator of children from their mothers and their fathers, mercenary, a traitor to myself, humanity, and even worse, to God.
“I’m only doing my job,” “I‘ve got to earn that money,” “I only follow orders,” “I deserve to be and I am happy,” are our preferred refrains – like excuses, ineffective balms and affirmations before something as powerful as the truth. They are like the smoke we blow from our dying embers that remain of the divine fire that we neglected to take good care of so as not to see ourselves with clarity before the mirrors of Divine Mother and Creator of the Truth. I sure hope that they will serve us at the hour of talking truthfully before the Divine Just Judge, who discovers everything that’s false.
In exchange for your mommy, here, now, take this toy. Study well what it has cost me! You’ll see, it’s very, but very costly, more than even my humanity. How long will I be paying for it? No, in that I don’t even dare to think.
Enough! Quit crying while I destroy, pardon, while I “deport” your mother. I don’t know how you’re going to make it, child. That part is not mine to do. Again, here I affirm, “I’m only doing my job, “I have to obey to earn money,” and “I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m happppppyyyyyyyyyyyyy - Damn! My robotic programming mechanism got jammed, I need someone to hit my head …… ppppppyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_______ ________ ___________________
By Juan N. Reza
For the humanity that remains and that is to come, especially for the children.

JUGUETE CARO
Juan N. Reza
Niña, niño, aqui te va este juguete a cambio de que dejes de llorar, mientras me llevo a tu mamá. ¿No ves que tu llanto me perturba? A tu edad de dos, tres, seis o siete años, ¿Qué no sabes porqué lo hago? ¿No entiendes que ella es ilegal? No llores mientras me llevo a tu madre aunque ya no podrás verla quien sabe hasta cuando, un dia, cuatro, seis, … meses quizás.
No me hagas preguntas molestas tan profundas sobre porqué lo hago, no lo podrás tu entender. Solamente quiero que te calles y dejes de llorar. ¿Cómo te atreves? Ni yo mismo las analizo profundamente. ¿Qué puedes saber de mercenari@s - alguaciles, patrulla fronteriza, soldad@s, agentes de “inteligencia,” y de ICE, policías, congresistas, gobernador/a, agentes del departamento de estado u oficial, cineastas y autores, ideólog@s con y sin título de religios@s - asociad@s y vendid@s a los intereses de la élite financiera? “Defensores de la patria, Democracia y libertad, protegemos contra el terrorismo” así le llamamos a nuestra propia comodidad. A mi me toca esta fea parte, enjaular a y apartarte de tu madre. Tengo que obedecer, pues eso es lo correcto.
Nos llevamos a tu mamá, pero no te puedo dar más razones, solo acepta, bien quedan “dentro de la ley.” Me costaría demasiado ahorita, tiempo, pensamiento, sacudidas a mi conciencia, y ver claramente en lo que me he convertido: una fiera trastornada y anormal. Tengo que cumplir con mi trabajo, tengo cuentas por pagar. A tu edad tan inocente inseparable de divinidad, no puedo explicarte el porqué me llevo lo más sagrado e importante en tu vida, ay…no lo quiero enfrentar, en lo que me he convertido: separador de niños de sus madres y sus padres, mercenari@, traicioner@ a Dios, a mi mismo, a toda la humanidad.
“Solo hago mi trabajo,” “tengo que ganar dinero,” “solo estoy siguiendo órdenes,” “merezco ser y soy feliz,” son nuestr@s refránes preferidos, como excusas, bálsamos y afirmaciones inefectiv@s ante algo tan fuerte como la verdad. Son como el humo que soplamos desde las murientes brazas que nos quedan del fuego divino que dejamos de cuidar para no vernos con claridad ante los espejos de la Divina Madre y Creadora de la Verdad. Ojalá nos sirvan a la hora de hablar ante el Justo Juez Divino que descubre toda falsedad.
A cambio de tu mamí, ay te va este juguete. Estudia bien lo que me ha costado. Verás, es muy, pero muy caro, aún más que mi propia humanidad. ¿Hasta cuándo lo estaré pagando? No, en eso no quiero ni pensar. ¡Ya! Calla tu llanto mientras destruyo, perdón, mientras “deporto”, a tu mamá. Haber como le haces nin@. No me compite. Afirmo,“solo hago mi trabajo,” “tengo que obedecer para ganar dinero,” y “soy feliz, soy feliz, soy felizizizzzizzzzzz. ¡Ayyy! Denme un golpe en la cabeza, se me atoró el mecanismo de mi programación robótica izizizizizizzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz_______ _______ _______ _______ ____________________________________________________________
Por Juan N. Reza “Cheno” para la humanidad que queda y que vendrá, especialmente para l@s niñ@s

at 10:42 AM

By Western Shoshone Defense Project

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Joanne Shenandoah and Michael Bucher, multiple award winning artists, will be performing at the Inauguration on Jan. 20th at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, VA. They will be performing "Riding Free," a new song written and performed by Joanne Shenandoah and dedicated to the Western Shoshone struggle and the lives of Mary and Carrie Dann. The song first appeared in the newly released film, “American Outrage” produced by Beth and George Gage. If you would like more information, or an mpeg of the song, please let us know.
Thank you Joanne for your support!
Western Shoshone Defense Project

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON INAUGURATION DAY?
Spend Inauguration Day Supporting the Western Shoshone and the Freedom of Native Religions and Human Rights
Action Alert
As the Martin Luther King human rights weekend and on the Inauguration Day of President Barrick Obama, the 44th President of the United States, approach, we at the Western Shoshone Defense Project ask the support of everyone to assist us in opposing the continuing Human Rights violations of the Western Shoshone People and their lands.
Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Federal Court in Reno has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 20th and 21st.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AS WE AWAIT THE COURT’s DECISION: We need supporters at both of the following locations:
1.Attend the Public Demonstration to Protect Native Spiritual Areas and Human Rights in front of the Courthouse on S. Virginia Street beginning at 8 am on both Jan. 20th and 21st.
2.Attend the Mt. Tenabo encampment and Arbor Vigil beginning tomorrow, Thursday Jan. 15th and lasting through the following week of hearings at the gathering area on the Southeast flank facing Grass Valley, Nevada. (Contact wsdp@igc.org for directions and supplies needed).
3. We also need people to write requests to President-elect Barrack Obama and his transition team. This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now and a commitment to good faith talks with the Western Shoshone must be made.
4. Make a donation to support our work. Make checks payable to : SGF/WSDP. Send to: PO Box 211308, Crescent Valley, NV 89812.
Addresses and talking points are attached below, please do what you can – we need all the help we can get.
Background: Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution. Barrick has carried out many violations of Human Rights, and abusively opposed the struggle of Indigeous lands and people. Barrick is now beginning construction of an open pit cyanide mine directly on Mt. Tenabo – a Western Shoshone spiritual and cultural area. Shoshone opposition to this mine has been ongoing and has gained global attention. Barrick has failed to recognize these concerns and has instead attempted to divide the Shoshone people, giving money and gifts to the communities, and using its media channels to state that all the people are happy and are supportive of their operations. The time is critical now as Barrick has already received full approval from the U.S. Dept. of Interior and has begun ripping out the pinyon forest and digging the pit to create its “Cortez Hills Expansion Mine”.
This mine will cause permanent destruction of the cultural and spiritual practices of the Western Shoshone. Mt. Tenabo has been, and continues to be, used by Western Shoshone people as a central part of their religious practices and world view. Western Shoshone visit the mountain and the valley below (the location of the mine pit) for prayer ceremonies, gathering of sacred plants, fasting, and vision quests, among other uses. The Mountain also contains Western Shoshone gravesites. All of these values and uses will be destroyed by the Project. In addition, the massive pumping of groundwater will likely dry up sacred springs and streams on and around Mt. Tenabo.
No big mining project in Nevada has ever been denied by the United States. This is one must be stopped.
Again, we need your help to tell Barrick to to stop presenting false information to the media making the Shoshone people and the violations of this mine to the lands and sacred areas invisible to the public. At this time we need your support to stop mining at Mount Tenabo and to tell the U.S. there must be a full review of the human rights violations of the Shoshone people. We ask for your support in this urgent case which has common elements with indigenous peoples and mining abuses around the world. Thank you for supporting the Western Shoshone Defense Project.
Some important talking points to consider in your Request:
∗ The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Decision 1/68) has specifically raised concerns regarding the mining threat to Mt. Tenabo. The United States is in further violation of this Decision in approving this project – the Obama administration needs to understand this now before taking office.
∗ The Bush administration has strong connections to the mining industry and this decision approving the “Cortez Hills Expansion” before the new administration comes in is highly questionable.– President Obama should demonstrate the change he is committed to and respect Western Shoshone spirituality and the need to stop this destructive project and uphold the human rights and Treaty rights. Request that the Obama Team meet immediately with Western Shoshone representatives to investigate further the human rights violations.
∗ Barrick is well-aware of the concerns and the Mt. Tenabo mine proposal has been specifically criticized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The details of the mine would:
∗ Disturb 6,792 acres of land, including a heap leach and waste rock facilities.
∗ Blast the new Cortez Hills mine Pit approximately 900 feet in length, 6,400 feet in width, and a maximum depth of 2,200 feet.
∗ Pump groundwater from around the pit with an average dewatering rate of approximately 1.8 billion gallons per year for ten years.
∗ Create a drop in the water table of 1,600 feet surrounding the pit, decreasing to 10 feet at a 3-4 mile radius of the pit.
∗ Potentially impact 50 springs and seeps in the area.
∗ Of the 11 non-Cortez Gold Mine water rights impacted, only one is expected to recover fully within 100 years after dewatering ceases
Also:
President-elect Barrack Obama – Needs to demonstrate his commitment to change and meet with traditional Western Shoshone immediately to investigate the human rights situation.
Type in your info and your request directly to the Transition Team at: http://change.gov/page/s/yourstory

at 10:38 AM

Jan. 14, 2009

Leonard has been moved to Canaan, Pennsylvania

Leonard was transferred on Jan. 13 to a high-security federal prison in Canann, Pennsylvania, northeast of his former facility in Lewisburg. Prison authorities have assured us that he will retain his phone and painting privileges and access to his diabetes medication, but we will keep you posted on the transition. Many thanks to all of you who wrote the BOP on his behalf. Please write to Leonard at his new address below.
Inmate Mail/Parcels
Do not send funds to this address; for more information go to the Inmate Money page. Use this address when sending correspondence and parcels to inmates confined at this facility.
Leonard Peltier
Inmate #89637-132
USP CANAAN
U.S. PENITENTIARY
P.O. BOX 300
WAYMART, PA 18472
Physical Address (Do not use for mail unless it is the same as the mailing address listed.)
Use this address for in-person visits.
USP CANAAN
U.S. PENITENTIARY
3057 EASTON TURNPIKE
WAYMART, PA 18472
Phone: 570-488-8000
Fax: 570-488-8130
E-mail address: CAA/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV2

Urgent Alert -- Sen. Dorgan Calls Peltier trial "fair and just"
Please write, call, or fax (Senators do not read email) Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who recently stated his belief that Leonard Peltier’s trial was “fair and just”. Dorgan is chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which is responsible for the funding and oversight of the BIA police force that terrorized the Pine Ridge reservation in the 1970s. Even if he does not support Leonard Peltier, Dorgan must acknowledge that the families of victims of federal violence such as Pedro Bissonette, Buddy Lamont, Sandra Wounded Foot, Frank Clearwater, and many others deserve the same recognition and respect as those of FBI agents Coler and Williams. Their deaths have gone not only for the most part unpunished, but also uninvestigated. History, as well as justice, demands a full congressional investigation of the events of 1973-1977 on Pine Ridge and beyond. Dorgan clearly has much to learn, and he should begin his education by asking the FBI why they are continuing to withhold documents and how they could have “misplaced” the Myrtle Poor Bear files, as they recently claimed in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. We must pressure Sen. Dorgan, as well as educate him.
As committee chairman, he will have to be more responsive to tribal demands, so tribal resolutions directed to both Dorgan and Obama are more important than ever. We will be drafting a model resolution soon, so please contact our office if you would like to work on presenting it to your tribal council. But please call or write Sen. Dorgan (form letter below for guidance) by next week and forward any responses you may receive.
For Freedom in 09,
LPDOC
Senator Byron Dorgan
322 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone (202) 224-2551
Fax (202) 224-1193
Dear Senator Dorgan:
I was disappointed to learn that you consider the conviction and sentencing of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier to have been “fair and just”. Amnesty International, which closely observed the 1977 trial and subsequent hearings and appeals, came to quite the opposite conclusion. In calling for Leonard’s “immediate and unconditional” release on Nov. 16, 2000, the human rights organization stated that it “has repeatedly voiced serious concerns over the fairness of the legal proceedings which led to Leonard Peltier’s conviction and sentence, and believes that political factors may have influenced the way in which the case was conducted”. Every federal appeals court which has reviewed the trial has found evidence of government misconduct in the case, even while denying Peltier a new trial. For instance, Appeals Court Judge Gerald Heaney, who rejected Peltier’s motion for a new trial in 1986 on technical legal grounds, five years later wrote that “the United States government must share responsibility with the Native Americans for the June 26 firefight”.
As Heaney also wrote, “We, as a nation, must treat Native Americans more fairly. Favorable action by the President in the Leonard Peltier case would be an important step in this regard.” As chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, you are in a position to initiate this healing process. It must be remembered that agents Coler and Williams were far from the only victims of the conflict on Pine Ridge, in which the BIA and FBI were key players in propping up a corrupt dictatorship. You owe it to your constituents and to yourself to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the dozens of deaths on Pine Ridge in the 1970s. Such a process, perhaps along the lines of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will help heal the wounds of the forgotten victims of U.S.-backed death squads, as well as contribute to a fuller understanding of our shared history that will help prevent future conflicts.
Sincerely, Your Name, Address, Phone
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
IPF WEBSITE: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm
and www.myspace.com/leonardpeltierisinnocent
contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

at 1:39 PM

From Leonard Peltier,

Dictated by phone January 12, 2009
Greetings my relatives, friends and/or captors

To my relatives and friends, I want to especially thank you for your generosity in this season of giving they call Christmas. And I want you to know I'm mindful of the reason for the season as they say, for Jesus himself was a political prisoner. He stood up against the warmongers the exploiters of his people and he was imprisoned and hung out to dry, likewise so many other people who have stood up against those who would exploit the lives and resources of people around the world. I don't claim to be of any significance on their level, I am but one man of many who have stood up against exploiters that would use force to inflict their value system upon a weaker people.

I am in the process right now of being transferred; I had hoped to be transferred to a facility on the Turtle Mountain Reservation while I dealt with other legal issues regarding my imprisonment. However my captors have once again triumphed in their continuing efforts to break me. They have sent me even farther away from my traditional homeland. I hear them and others continually talk about justice. One of the bureaucrats in North Dakota when becoming aware of my efforts to be transferred to Turtle Mountain spoke up and said he believed justice is being served in my continued imprisonment. I sincerely hope good people will take note of this person, Senator Byron Dorgan, on the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs. It is quite obvious that he has no knowledge of true Indian History, no knowledge of my case, and is only a lackey for those who wish to keep us always subject to their version of what justice is. They have at times called me a thug and a cold blooded murderer, but I know historically they called Geronimo a cold blooded murderer and savage, they called Crazy Horse a cold blooded murderer and savage, they called Captain Jack of the Modocs a cold blooded murderer and savage, they called Black Hawk of the Sauk a cold blooded murderer and savage, they called Tecumseh a cold blooded murderer and savage, they called Sitting Bull a cold blooded murderer and savage - and the list goes on and on.

The one thing all these men have in common is they were all imprisoned or killed by this government; they were all patriots in their own land, trying to stop the illegal immoral taking of their people's land and resources. They didn't call the men who murdered our people at Wounded Knee thugs and savages, they didn't call the snipers who shot Frank Clearwater at Wounded Knee in 73 a murderer, they didn't call the ones who shot Buddy Lamont a cold blooded murderer, they didn't call the ones who shot Joe Stuntz a cold blooded murderer, they didn't call the sniper who shot that young woman and baby in 1992 at Ruby Ridge Idaho in a cold blooded murder, they didn't call the ones who burned the men, women and children to death at Waco, Texas in 1993 in cold blooded murderers. I assume cold blooded means you have no sense of right or wrong or something of that nature when you take a life. And if that is so, then this country is full of cold blooded murderers and thugs because by proxy they have killed thousands of innocent men women and children in Iraq and most recently in Afghanistan, I've seen them on TV. I've seen the pictures of children's bodies piled on top of each other. And right now the US funds Israel's war machine as they kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children.

Einstein once said, "All things are relative" and "For every action there is a reaction". In the traditional way our people teach the same. In all the major religions around the world it is taught the same way before Einstein ever drew a breath. Every person in America who allows this injustice to continue without voicing any opposition is a party to murder on some level. Someone once said and it is a truism, "All that is needed for evil to prevail is good men to say nothing." And if Einstein is correct and Jesus is correct then you reap what you sow, and Buddha is correct who said there are karmic laws that must repay or be repaid for whatever you do then this nation had better start paying attention. It is financially at this point bankrupt. It is spiritually and morally bankrupt.

"I'm sure this letter won't buy me any favored treatment. Actually I don't know that anything ever has. They had a plot to kill me once that didn't work. They have denied me medical treatment that I need. I have arthritis in my knees. I have a semi dysfunctional jaw from lack of medical treatment. I have 80% loss of vision in one eye. And I have other internal organ infirmities that need medical treatment. But though I have trouble walking I will stand and voice my objection to the cold blooded mistreatment of indigenous people in this land and others. I will speak out always against the cold blooded atrocities that are caused directly by military weapons and/or political policies that cause people to take their own lives as in my country and other countries around the world. And though my vision may be failing me somewhat I can still read the writing on the wall.

Though this country is in great financial peril money - is not the cure. There are some writings today that this country will be destroyed by fire, well let me tell you, or should I say, reiterate the words of my elders and others; the fires are burning now, right now today all over the world the fires are burning. There will be natural devastation upon devastation coming to this country that has used the land and resources of my people to pollute and destroy the natural order of life. You reap what you sow. And as my people say everything that goes around comes around. As Einstein said, "For every action there is a reaction."

I may live a hundred years or I may die tomorrow; but I will always have concern and sorrow for those innocent people that lose their lives. It is such a great tragedy that even some of those who pull the triggers and attack others have been convinced they are doing the right thing for some bureaucrat with little or no understanding of life that espouses some rhetoric about justice being served.

If I sound angry or hurt or disappointed or a multitude of other emotions you would probably be correct. I remember once upon a time, in my naïve belief that sooner or later I would be free and justice would be served. In my case after 33 years of illegal imprisonment justice will never be served, it will be up to the Creator to bring about a reaction that may in some future time balance the scales. But for me and the others like me, whether they are among other prisoners in the US prison system or dead in the streets of Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza Strip or South America or some reservation road or some ghetto street, justice is not being served at this time.

If there is anything further I could say that would affect you in some way it would be to encourage you to take a few minutes out of your life and quietly sit and reflect and maybe just maybe you can hear the mothers crying for their lost children and the men crying for their lost wives and daughters and the grandfathers crying for their lost sons and I could say more but perhaps you may have grown tired of my commentary. Thank you for your time, thank you for reading this, and don't let evil triumph. Say something.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse and all the others who gave their lives that future generations might enjoy some time together on this beautiful mother earth,
Mitakuye Oyasin (All My Relations)
Leonard Peltier
PS. I also want to take this opportunity to whole heartedly thank all those who wrote the prison on my behalf recently seeking my transfer to Turtle Mountain facility in North Dakota. Thank you.
IPF WEBSITE:
http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm
and www.myspace.com/leonardpeltierisinnocent
IPF e-mail:
ipforum@skynet.be
Also, please visit the website of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC):
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
LPDOC e-mail:
contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

at 10:55 PM

Double click to enlarge
Listen to Charlie Hill at the AIM West 40-year Reunion on Earthcycles:
http://www.earthcycles.net
or on Censored Blog Talk Radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell/page/2

at 12:34 PM

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Nation became the first in the United States to ratify the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Shannon Rivers, Akimel O'otham from Gila River in Arizona, speaks on the importance of this action on Censored News Blog Talk Radio.

"We hope it becomes customary law, throughout the United States and the world ," Rivers said of the Declaration, speaking on Earthcycles' Longest Walk Talk Radio at the end of the Longest Walk.

Pointing out that the Declaration includes rights at borders and self-determination, he said Gila River undertook this hallmark move in commitment and solidarity with Indigenous Peoples worldwide, on May 21, 2008.

Rivers also describes the visit by Bolivian President Evo Morales to the United Nations in New York and the disrespect this world leader has been shown in the U.S. Rivers also describes how Homeland Security used fear after 9/11 to increase fear of migrants. Ultimately, the US profiteered with jails and prisons.

Further, Rivers discusses how the lifestyle and foods of the colonized U.S. has damaged the health of Indigenous Peoples in the Sonoran Desert. Rivers said there is a revitalization on Gila River of people growing traditional foods in their fields.

"Indigenous Peoples are some of the richest peoples," he said, during the interview a Greenbelt Park, Maryland. "We have many languages and we can learn many songs, many teachings."

Rivers urged Indigenous Peoples to stand up with courage and fight for what they believe in, with sacred walks and sacred runs, protection of sacred places and listening to the stories of the elderly.

Rivers is joined by Phillip Morris, Navajo from Page, Arizona. Morris describes the abuses of the US government and Peabody Coal in the destruction of Navajo lands and aquifer water.

"They call it 'Relocation.' I don't care what you call it, it is another way of the government saying, 'We want your land,'" Morris said.

Morris said the strip mining of Peabody Coal has resulted in the springs drying up. While Peabody Coal drained the aquifer, most Navajo people were hauling their water there. With words and millions of dollars, the U.S. and Peabody has continued with their ways, he said, "Of keeping us poor."

Morris said, "Healing is within us, but when we do it together as a group, in unity, it is more powerful."

"It all starts with prayers. We have to start coming together," Morris said, urging people to go to sweatlodges and learn from others.

Also, on the blog radio show, Long Walkers speak in tornado-hit Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was more than 90 percent destroyed by a tornado in 2007. Adriano Buckskin, Luv the Mezenger, Calvin Magpie, Jr., Paul Owns the Sabre and Rebecca Duncan speak as Long Walkers over a feast to the community. The show includes a song by the Miwok youth singers who were Long Walkers.

Recorded live by Earthcycles, producer Govinda Dalton, and cohost Brenda Norrell, on the Longest Walk northern route across America, Feb. through July, 2008.

Listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell

Radio stations may rebroadcast in whole or part. Please credit Earthcycles.

Photo 1: Shannon Rivers as master of ceremonies at the Longest Walk Concert in D.C. Photo by Brita Brookes Photo 2: Phillip Morris and Shannon Rivers onboard the Earthcycles radio bus on the Longest Walk in Greenbelt Park, Maryland, in July 2008, during this interview. Photo Brenda Norrell

Contact Shannon Rivers at:
sunriverhawk@aol.com

at 4:17 PM

'HOOF LADIES' CHASING INDIGENOUS YOUTH: THE COLONIAL STATE’S OLD SEXUAL PERVERSION STRATEGY

Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com
Published with permission

Jan. 10, 2008. There is an old Haudenosaunee story about the “Hoof Lady." She appears to our youth in various guises to stop them from doing wrong. She also appears in order to test them. For example, when our young people are hiding in the bush drinking alcohol, an ugly apparition appears. When they notice her hoofs and her scary gestures, they are terrified and run away. She could also entice them to do bad things by appearing in other human forms, both male and female. They could be blond, redhead or brunette to lure our youth! This “shape shifter” is usually an outside unfamiliar person who could show up at times when our minds are weak and vulnerable and we don’t notice her hoofs. The “come-on” might be visual beauty or “other attractions." The decoy could lead them to do something unnatural because they think no one is watching. In the end the Hoof Lady can grab control of them. Eventually some of them have been induced to go against their people.
There is no mystery about where some of these Hoof Ladies come from. Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/mohawk-nation-news-hoof-ladies.html

at 7:23 PM

Russell Means: Breaking the silence on Obama
By Brenda Norrell

Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

American Indian activist Russell Means said President-elect Obama was selected by the colonial powers as president to improve the US image globally in the aftermath of George Bush. Further, Means said Obama’s appointments show that he is a Zionist controlled by Israel. Speaking on Red Town Radio today, Means said what is happening now to Palestinians is what happened to American Indians.
“Every policy the Palestinians are now enduring was practiced on the American Indian,” Means said on the Blog Talk Radio show, hosted by Brenda Golden, Muskoke Creek. “What the American Indian Movement says is that the American Indians are the Palestinians of the United States, and the Palestinians are the American Indians of the Middle East,” Means said. Further, he points out that the Zionists who control Israel now control the United States. “The power of the US in world politics diminishes every day.”
“Now they have found a house servant by the name of Obama.” Means said Obama was selected as a “man in charge to take the heat,” because of the “bad cop” image that Bush put forth in the world. “Now, all of a sudden, it is, ‘We’re so great. We elected a black man to be president.’”
Means added that Obama is a black man who was raised by his white grandmother and has appointed Zionists to key positions and that the US is headed for a new era of menial jobs. On Indian lands, Means reminds us, the only people who get ahead are those who sell out to the colonial system. Now, there is massive and sophisticated propaganda by the Zionists and the U.S. Both countries, he said, are liars. In the US, American Indians have been shut out of history, philosophy and the arts, in a “total blackout.” The United States does not want to be reminded of the smallpox blankets, theft, colonialism and mistreatment of the American Indian, he said.
Means said most Americans do not realize that the financial collapse of this country is only beginning: “Americans cannot continue the lifestyles of consumers when there is no production. Low income jobs and menial jobs are the only ones left.” “Health care in the US reveals how the policies used in experimentations on American Indians became US policies. The US health care system is now stringent and calloused, with constant refusals of treatment. This has always been the case with the Indian Health Service. Now it is the policy of the HMOs. Family ranchers and family farmers are now in the way of progress, the same way the American Indian was once viewed. Now, family farmers and family ranchers are being gutted, because they function on massive credit. They are trying to pay back debts, which is not possible with manipulated agriculture prices. The family farmer and family rancher are now going to be extinct.”
Means points out that the federal government has also taken over and polluted the educational system; “Americans don’t even know their own history. Along with this federal control, came the passage of English-only laws in many states. However, for Indigenous Peoples it is positive to know many languages. If you speak two languages, you are speaking with two brains. That is the way it is to us. That’s how we look at life. In the mid-Twentieth Century, US schools listened to the communities and local governing boards.”
“However, now the US educational policy has taken away local control and mandated federal guidelines. So now education has become a matter of money. Meanwhile, the real history is silenced. While the United States attempts to portray itself as a peace loving nation, the fact is the United States is at war every year. The United States breaks a host of international laws every year, which has been the pattern since 1946. American Indians were aware of what the US was doing, because the US had already broken all treaties with American Indians; treaties guaranteed by the US Constitution,” he said.
About the American revolution to throw off the British, Means pointed out how “his-story” has been manipulated; “There is a great deal of propaganda about why the US broke away from England. But the fact is that George Washington, the largest landowner, along with the slave owners, broke with England so that the original treaties of England with American Indians in the west would not have to be honored. The US broke with England, to invade the west and take the land. ”
The US was created to break international laws,” Means said, adding that it is obvious today that this is the pattern of the U.S. Means said the United States was initiated as an outlaw and renegade nation and that “today, its imperial policies mean that Israel is a surrogate of the US, receiving aid from the U.S. With the combined US and international aid, Israeli receives $12 billion a year for its “military and the settlers in the West Bank.”
Means said 80 percent of the people in the West Bank are paid to stay there. “It is America who pays them to stay there. But even in Israel, where there is a free press and not everyone agrees with Israel waging war on Palestine. He said 20 to 30 percent of the people in Israel are against the war on Palestine. Like the United States, Israel has been at war every year of its existence.”
Means often refers to Israel as the 51st state, of warmongers and imperialists. “America and Israel are based on lies, resulting in the massive deaths in Iraq. Now, the US and Israel are focused on Iran because its oil reserves.” Means said Indian lands have become “open air concentration camps.” “If you chose to stay on the reservation, you are guaranteed to be poor, unless you are part of the colonial apparatus set up by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” he said.
“On Indian lands, everyone fights to be part of the tribal governments because that is where the money is. Everyone fights to be part of the colonial system. The only way you can be part of the colonial system is to obey. Those returning home to Indian lands cannot ‘rock the boat,’ demand their treaty rights or their rights guaranteed by the US Constitution.”
Means said the American Indian Movement made people aware that the US Constitution was based upon that of the Iroquois Six Nations. “However, the US Constitution only includes one-third of the Great Law of Peace. If all of the Great Law of Peace had been adopted, this country would be much different and much wealthier.” However, it was turned into a country of consumers. He said what you get with a country of consumers is greed. “What is going on in Palestine is going on in America. The United States is taking away the homes of the people.” Now in the United States, there is “communism from the left” and “right-wing socialism.” He said the problem with socialism is that it is bereft of consensus and spirituality.
Means, now 70, said he has experienced the US when it reached its zenith in the world in the 1950s, “At that time, America was a productive country. In the years that followed, the ruling elite sold out the unions, as the labor movement was razor thin close to taking over politics in America. The most watershed event was Brown vs. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruling which desegregated schools. The white male started losing his power. Then, in the social revolution that followed, white males lost control of their women and their women’s vote, and lost control of the work place, Means said.
While civil rights was the chosen remedy of most social movements, American Indians remained dedicated to ‘sovereign rights,’ individual sovereign rights. We are the only ones that held on to the sovereign concept, he said. The other social movements were saying, “Please Mr. White Male let me be equal to you.”
Means said things will be different now, “Our grandmother the Mother Earth is tired of the human race. She is going to eliminate it and I champion her, Mother earth.” Means said matriarchy is what Indigenous people are all about. “We know that women are the givers of life and men are the takers of life. We have to follow the woman in order to gain balance.” He said in a matriarchal society, there is a balanced society, as each celebrates their strengths together. “True individual freedom has to be done by consensus, otherwise it is mob rule.” In the US, now there are fake elections. “The people are convinced they are actually electing a president. However, it is the Electoral College that actually selects the US president.”
The charade is now coming to a close, as the ‘Patriot Act’ means that Posse Comitatus is dead and buried. Means said everyone has the responsibility to be free. “You are free to be responsible. That is the essence of freedom.” He said everyone should know their rights. Otherwise, they are guaranteed slavery.
“Einstein said, ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome,’” “That’s America, that’s the Indian reservation. That’s pathetic and an injustice to human beings.” He said “human brains are doped up with all this ignorance and greed.”

Red Town Radio show host Brenda Golden, enrolled Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, grew up in Clearview, Oklahoma. Golden attended Sequoyah Indian School in Tahlequah before joining the Air Force. Later, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Oklahoma. She has worked in Indian Country as an educator, tribal liaison, grant writer, board member and volunteer since the early 1990's.
Golden said she is hosting Red Town Radio, on Blog Talk Radio, to offer a platform for Indigenous issues.
Listen to more of the show, including David Hill, who called in, and pointed out that while the US cut school funds and school lunches, the US increased aid to Israel.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/RedTownRadio
Russell Means' column 'Welcome to the Rez'
More on Obama's appointees at Lakotah Republic
http://www.republicoflakotah.com/
U.S. seeks to ship hundreds of tons of arms to Israel
By Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE50875320090109
The United States is seeking to hire a merchant ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this month, tender documents seen by Reuters show. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as "ammunition" on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January. "Shipping 3,000-odd tons of ammunition in one go is a lot," one broker said, on condition of anonymity. Israel is one of America's closest allies and both nations regularly sell arms to each other. In September, the U.S. Congress approved the sale of 1,000 bunker-buster missiles to Israel. The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world. (Click link above for article)

U.S. Rejected Aid for Israeli Raid on Iranian Nuclear Site
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/washington/11iran.html?hp
New York Times
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: January 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for specialized bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s main nuclear complex and told the Israelis that he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior American and foreign officials.
(Clink link above for article)

at 8:29 PM

Fort Chipewyan children -- Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation -- in northern Alberta, Canada, organized their own protest of the Tar Sands, even though it was minus 35 degrees today. Photos by Mike Merc .

Read about destruction:

Indigenous to Obama: Halt Oil Sands demands an development

by Indigenous Environmental Network and Rainforest Action Network

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2009/01/indigenous-to-obama-halt-oil-sands.html

at 11:06 AM

Phosphorus Bombs, the Slaughter of Innocents and Corporate Media Crimes

By Cyprus IndyMedia Collective

War in Palestine continues; almost 800 people killed, more than 3200 casualties with serious to critical injuries. Resistance to the Israeli invasion invasion continues by all means, including military defence by the armed population; diplomatic actions by progressive and revolutionary politicians; and with huge mobilizations for Peace by people all over the world.
Global Protests against the Israeli invasion of Palestine and slaughter of Gaza are planned for
~ Saturday, January 10th ~
Peace and Justice groups in all major cities in the world, including many in the US, the UK and within Israel itself have organized for demonstrations. More details, here:
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10187/index.php
~ In this report ~
More news from the battlefields; suppressed or under-reported news from the global political scene; and Corporate Media crimes.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Miguel Brockmann, has stated that in relation the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli targets, the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves. He also denounced the UN Security Council's failure to take action to stop the Israeli aggression in Gaza. He specifically identified the United States for its protection of Israel which prevented the UN to force Israel to comply with the international resolutions.
President Hugo Chavez, head of the revolutionary Bolivarian Government in Venezuela has expelled the Israeli Ambassador in protest over the atrocities committed by Israel in Palestine. In response, Hamas thanked the Venezuelan people for this courageous act of solidarity, and noted that not a single Arab Government has yet interrupted diplomatic relations or taken any comparable step despite Israel's ongoing butchery. More here:
tinyurl.com/8fv4xm
Subcomandante Marcos issued a speech on the situation which among other things states:
"The underground rivers that crisscross the world can change their geography, but they sing the same song. And the one we hear now is one of war and pain.
"...to the Zapatistas it looks like there's a professional army murdering a defenseless population. Who from below and to the left can remain silent?" Please read his statement here:
"Of sowing and harvests: Subcomandante Marcos' speech on Gaza"
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10168/index.php
On Thursday night on Jan. 9 the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The United States abstained from voting for the ceasefire. A whole day later the Israeli Government and its forces continue to ignore it and are proceeding with the slaughter of Palestine, unfazed.
In an incident that only now is coming to light through a UN investigation, Israeli soldiers forced more than 100 people into a house in Gaza and then shelled it, killing 30. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said:
“From 3 to 7 January, the Israeli Defence Forces prevented medical teams from entering the area to evacuate the wounded. In of the one gravest incidents since the beginning of operations, according to several testimonies, on 4 January Israeli foot-soldiers evacuated approximately 110 Palestinians into a single-residence house in Zaytoun (half of whom were children), warning them to stay indoors.
“Twenty-four hours later, Israeli forces shelled the home repeatedly, killing approximately thirty...":
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34794

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