Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas 2007

By Brenda Norrell
Narcosphere

The Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas 2007 will be held Nov. 7 --10, 2007 at the San Xavier Distrct on the Tohono O'odham Nation.

Narco News
By Brenda Norrell

SAN XAVIER, Ariz. -- The Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas will be held at San Xavier District on the Tohono O'odham Nation near Tucson, November 7 -- 10, 2007, Wednesday through Saturday.
Opposition to the militarization of the borders in Indigenous territories, including the US/Mexico border wall and the United States spying on private citizens, is a focus of the summit.
The foundation of the discussion will be the sacred duty to protect Mother Earth.
Indigenous rights of passage, Indigenous deaths in the borderzone and the universal rights of Indigenous Peoples will be discussed.
The United States' new border crossing requirements will be on the agenda, with Indigenous pressing for the recognition of tribal identification cards, as opposed to U.S. passports, for American Indian tribal members.
Land and water rights and human rights in the Americas will be the focus of sessions.
Special invitations are extended to the spiritual leaders, chiefs, tribal leaders and other Indigenous Peoples from Alaska, Canada, Central America and South America.
The first planning session for this year's summit was held on Friday, August 31, with Tohono O'odham from Arizona, O'odham from Mexico, Salt River Pima, Navajo and Hopi/Pueblo tribal members attending.
Tohono O’odham Mike Flores is organizing the summit.
The San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation passed a resolution on July 10, 2007 to host the summit again this year.

Points of Discussion: Human rights/Humanitarian aid; Know your rights workshop; Militarization/Surveillance on border; Political prisoners/Detention centers; Environment/Lands territories, natural resources; Women and the border; Traditional mobility/Immigration. There will also be a concert at San Xavier.

Watch for updates:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Photos of the planning session by Brenda Norrell. More photos:

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/09/indigenous-border-summit-of-americas.html

COUNTERPOINT: Friends of Leonard Peltier to Tim Giago

(Photo Akwesasne Press) Center: Dickie Wilson, Chairman of the Oglala Sioux Tribe at the time of Wounded Knee, and Guardians Of the Oglala Nation, or GOONs. More photos:
http://www.certain-natl.org/watsonpics.html

Counterpoint: Friends of Leonard Peltier respond to Tim Giago's recent column:

From the Friends of Leonard Peltier
August 31, 2007
A response to What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae?
Tim Giago, The Huffington Post, August 30, 2007:

“If, Giago is a lover of ‘fact’ and ‘objective’ journalism, as he claims, perhaps he will take the time to actually read and study the thousands of documents produced by [the] FBI... If that isn't enough, Tim Giago can watch reruns of interviews with judges, ex-GOONs describing their FBI support, [and] victims of GOONs’ terror... All of these... are available for anyone truly interested in facts.” -- Leonard Peltier (Letter to the Editor, May 1991 Edition of News From Indian Country)
Read article:
Response to "What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae?" by Tim Giago
--Friends of Leonard Peltier

Urgent: Global consultation, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

URGENT MATTER - INDIGENOUS PEOPLES - GLOBAL CONSULTATION
IMPORTANT NOTICE
An agreement has been reached over the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The 'Co-sponsors' and the Africa Group of States have now reached agreement over an amended version of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Indigenous Peoples Caucus is undertaking an urgent consultation with Indigenous Peoples delegations to determine whether the amended Declaration is to be supported or rejected. This important consultation ultimately means the amended Declaration is to be approved by the General Assembly or not adopted.
The States that are bound in this agreement will represent a clear majority of the UN members and it will guarantee adoption. It is possible that all States will support the amended Declaration, except a few 'hard-line' opponents. We know who those opponents are.
These urgent consultations will determine whether we can live with the amendments, and the Declaration is adopted, OR whether we cannot accept the agreed version, and the Declaration will not be adopted. Your careful scrutiny, combined with priority attention to this consultation, is called for.
NEW DOCUMENTS FOR THE GLOBAL CONSULTATION ON THE DECLARATION(www.docip.org)
NOUVEAUX DOCUMENTS POUR LA CONSULTATION GLOBALE SUR LA DECLARATION(www.docip.org)
NUEVOS DOCUMENTOS SOBRE LA CONSULTA PARA LA DECLARACION, TAMBIEN EN ESPANOL(www.docip.org)
Danica VanzaSecretary assistantdoCip - Indigenous Peoples' Centerfor Documentation, Research and Information14, avenue de TrembleyCH 1209 - GENEVA (Switzerland)Tel.: +4122 - 740 34 33Fax: +4122 - 740 34 54e-mail: danica@docip.org - docip@docip.orgwww.docip.org

Please contact for more information:
Les Malezer
Chairperson, Indigenous Peoples Caucus: les.malezer@faira.org.au
Cell: +1 (646) 338 3029
Website: http://www.ipcaucus.net/
OFFICE
The Church Center
777 UN Plaza
IITC Office, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 (212) 682 3633 ext. 3123
Fax: +1 (212) 682 5354

Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas planning session

Tohono O'odham, Salt River Pima, Navajo and Hopi/Pueblo tribal members gathered to plan the Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas 2007. The second annual gathering will be held at the San Xavier District on the Tohono O'odham Nation near Tucson Nov. 7 --10, Wednesday through Saturday. The summit organizer is Tohono O'odham Mike Flores. The San Xavier District Council passed a resolution again this year in support of the summit, which opposes the militarization of the border and supports Indigenous rights. The first planning session was held August 31 in Tucson. (Photo Brenda Norrell)