Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 13, 2013

Censored News Never Silent


Idle No More, Paris, France
Censored News begins 2013 with the voices of those who are Silent No More, and the voices of those who were never silent

By Brenda Norrell
brendanorrell@gmail.com
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
 
Since Obama and the US Congressmen are busy jet-setting, and carrying out their drone assassinations, I thought it would be good to share this from the Tucson city bus today. A homeless man on his way back to the shelter said to another homeless, "That chicken sandwich we got yesterday sure was good, didn't fill me up, but it sure was good. Of course it didn't do my family any good."

Tonight, it will be 20 degrees in the Sonoran Desert.

Another real voice now being heard is Sixto Rodriguez. ‘Searching for Sugarman,’ has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary this year, which is surprising. Most folks considered the Oscars too stuffy to make a move like this. In Searching for Sugarman, Rodriguez imparts the soul of the common man in his humble words from Detroit, Michigan. His story reveals not only the truth of the music industry, but how music can be a catalyst for change, even in Apartheid South Africa where Rodriguez was famous without knowing it. A second great documentary nominated for an Oscar is ‘5 Broken Cameras,’ from Palestine.

From the gritty streets of Tucson, and Detroit Michigan, to the ice-packed roads of the north, this week the biggest news was Idle No More. As the Flash Mob Round Dances spread from the First Nations to around the world, ‘Idle No More’ support poured in from Shawnee, Okla., the Navajo Nation, New Zealand, Australia, Palestine and Sri Lanka. Mohawks, supporting Idle No More and pointing out that they were never idle, began rail blockades and blocked the Akwesasne Cornwall border by the thousands, as Chief Theresa Spence continued her fast.

Writing an article a day, Kahentinetha at Mohawk Nation News describes what is happening in Canada, and to the world. In the latest article, ‘Great Red Hope, Indigenous Youth,’ Kahentinetha writes, “The band councils cannot become intermediaries between us and the multinational corporation of Canada, to sell our resources. They have always been part of the greed and genocide program, trained to think hierarchically to enslave us. Corporate Indians are willing pupils of decadence.”

First Nation Terrance Nelson, Roseau River Ojibway, announced the elders will gather for prayers this week on Jan. 19, and sing the death song of the 38 Dakotas who were hanged in Minnesota. On Jan. 16, there will be a blockade in Manitoba.

For over a year now, Dakota Elder Albert Taylor has been asking me to use our power. He has been telling me that we need to lift the pipe. He kept saying, we need to ask for help. He says, "we still have power". On Saturday January 19th 2013 at the RCMP Station on Portage Ave in Winnipeg, at noon Winnipeg time, the Elders will ask for spiritual help. Albert Taylor asked that my older brother Charles lift the pipe while Elder Taylor will sing.

Albert Taylor is 85 years old. He will sing the death song used by the 38 Dakotas who were hung in Mankato Minnesota in 1862.

Censored News begins 2013 with the voices of those who are Silent No More, and those who were never silent.



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