Indigenous Peoples Challenge Harper's Canada

National Gathering of Indigenous Peoples Challenge Harper Government in Winnipeg

By Defenders of the Land
Photos by Ben Powless
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com


WINNIPEG -- Grassroots activists, elders, and elected leaders from First Nations fighting for self-determination and protection of land and resource rights presented a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Conservative Party's national policy conference in Winnipeg today. The Indigenous spokespeople have come to Winnipeg from communities across Canada to form a network dedicated to fighting for recognition of and respect for Indigenous rights, and deliver their message to Prime Minister Harper."Canada, along with the United States and New Zealand, is one of three countries that have voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We call on Canada to join the vast majority of nations who have adopted this declaration," said Art Manuel, of the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade. Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/11/defenders-of-land-challenge-harpers.html
Photo Milton Bornwithatooth negotiates with RCMP security guard to deliver the letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Photo by Ben Powless.

INDIAN POWER, United Native Americans

Quanah Brightman

Quanah Brightman, son of Lehman Brightman who founded United Native Americans in the 60s, will be among the guest during the weeklong AIM-West 40th year reunion in San Francisco, Nov. 24 -- 28. Brightman joins speakers on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at the San Francisco Baha’i Center. Keith Secola, Phoenix!, Medicine Warriors, All Nations Singers, Patricia Bellanger, Little Wolf Bellecourt, Yvonne Swan, Charlie Hill with Max Gail, will be at the event, noon to 6 pm.
Listen to audio of the early history at:
http://www.myspace.com/unitednativeamericansinc
From Quanah Brightman:
United Native Americans, Inc. (or U.N.A.) was formed in 1968 in San Francisco, California to promote the General Welfare of Native Americans. There are no paid staff or officers in U.N.A. and all work is donated. U.N.A. is not funded and exists solely on the support derived from membership dues, the sale of U.N.A. Merchandise, Tee Shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, and Posters, plus the few donations that have been received.
U.N.A was founded by Indians for Indians and is controlled by Indians. U.N.A. has been Labeled a "Militant" organization because of it's Aggressive Stand it has taken and because of the slogan it stresses--"INDIAN POWER", which is defined as Self-Determination, the Right to Run your Own Affairs and to Direct your Own Destiny, which is something Indian People Definitely Need. U.N.A is Definitely an Action Organization and if this means "Militant" then we are Militants. We as Native Americans, in order to perpetuate our Heritage, Exercise Constructive Leadership, and to perfect a Native American Organization which will Respond to the Needs of Native Americans.
U.N.A. Strives to Improve Indian Image.
U.N.A. has been one of the Strongest advocates to improve the "Negative" image of Indian People, and has been critical of the "Movie Industry" for their Exploitation of Indians, and the Stereotype they have created of the "drunken, inarticulate, savage." U.N.A. is also doing intensive work in the literary field, searching out Books and other Literature that add to this "negative image" of Indian People.
U.N.A. Testifies In Congress.
In 1968, Senate Sub-Committee Hearings on Indian Education held in Washington D.C., U.N.A. National President, Lehman L. Brightman gave some very damaging evidence against the Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools and their policy of taking young Indian children way from their parents and placing them in 'off-reservation" boarding schools, thousands of miles away from their homes. Mr. Brightman called Indian Education under the Bureau of Indian Affairs a "National Disgrace."
U.N.A. Investigates Indian Boarding Schools.
U.N.A. has tried to act as a "watch dog" over the governmental agencies that control Indian affairs, and has been extremely critical of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Public Health Service for their lack of Aid and callous treatment of Indian people. Since 1968, U.N.A. has investigated four of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Boarding Schools because of complaints of "brutality, - lack of food, -overcrowded living quarters, and to find out why these four high schools were not state accredited." The four government boarding schools investigated by U.N.A. were: Sherman Institute in Riverside, California, --Stewart Institute in Carson City, Nevada, -- Pierre Indian School in Pierre, South Dakota and Phoenix Indian School in Phoenix, Arizona."
U.N.A. Investigates Indian Hospitals.
Due to other complaints by Indian people of "poor medical service and other wrong doings," U.N.A. investigated two Indian hospitals run by the U.S. Public Health Service and exposed the "outrageous practices" to the public and Federal Authorities. The Hospitals investigated by U.N.A. were: Phoenix Indian Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona and the Indian Hospital on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
Services Provided by U.N.A.
The duties and services provided by U.N.A. are many and varied. U.N.A. provides the security of knowing that someone cares and will go to bat for them when all others won't. We fully realize that Indian people alone cannot rise out of this pit of poverty and neglect and it will take the combined efforts of Indians and Sympathetic non-Indians. For this reason U.N.A. accepts non-Indians as associate members who desire to help and their "expertise" in the fields of 'Law", Education, Medicine, etc, can be put to good use.
The cost of joining U.N.A. is Twenty Dollars a Year for Indians and Twenty-Five Dollars a Year for Non-Indians as associate members. Each membership will include a U.N.A. Tee Shirt and all other Mechanics produced by U.N.A.
For more information: qbrightman75@hotmail.com
United Native Americans,Inc.
Lehman L. Brightman: National President
2434 Faria Ave
Pinole, California 94564
Unitednativeamericansinc@gmail.com
(510)785-8160

Native American Heritage Month: Sharing in Michigan

Michigan Ojibwe Language Teachers & Students Walk Their Talk!

By Brita Brookes
Well it's been a busy past few weeks for the Anishinaabemowin Students and Community in Michigan who are planning and participating in Native American Heritage Month activities.
Both the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan Universities conducted Native American Month workshops, panels and events recently.
Last week at the University of Michigan, "Wiping the Tears of Seven Generations" a Documentary about the Bigfoot Memorial Ride was shown to students and community. This movie was followed up with the annual Fall Feast where all students, community and faculty bring traditional foods and have dinner.
Among the guests at the Ann Arbor Fall Feast that was held at Trotter House, was visiting lecturers Ada Deer and David Cornsilk. The following Monday at the University of Michigan, there was an Indian Activist, Law and Tribal Government symposium panel which included Menominee Nation activist and professor Ada Deer, Cherokee Nation activist David Cornsilk and Michigan State Law School Professor and Tribal Law expert Matthew Fletcher.
Wrapping up a busy week of culture and language, the University of Michigan Language students hosted an event at the University Of Michigan Exhibit Museum Of Natural History. Students and Language professors Howard Kimewon and Margaret Noori hosted "The Three Fires of Michigan: Natural History from a Native American Perspective" exhibition which occurred on every floor of the four story museum.
Hundreds of area elementary school kids visited the museum to learn and participate in teachings about the Native American perspective on Natural History. The excited school children learned traditional dancing, songs, heard stories, held regalia items carefully, constructed turtles, made birch bark scrolls, handled copper and salt minerals, heard about the four directions, names for the clans, how Indians were here first and learned the story of the Creation of Turtle Island from Ojibwe language student Mike Zimmerman.
In the large meeting room, children sat on the floor around Kimewon and quietly listened to his stories about birch bark canoes and hunting. This traditional storytelling was done in both the Ojibwe language and English. Many of the ongoing themes that the children related easily to were that of recycling, protecting and respecting each other and nature.
By the end of the day, one could hear the children in the hallways saying loudly and proudly "Migwetch Howard!" and "Migwetch Meg" after learning the Ojibwe word for "Thank-you." Good work University of Michigan! Go Blue! Eastern Michigan University also joined in the celebrations and held its own panel entitled "Sharing Our Lifeways" which included three traditional fluent Ojibwe language speakers and one language and spiritual revitalization advocate.
The focus of the panel was to highlight the preservation of the traditional language and teachings for the good of all of society. Kimewon, who participated in the panel spoke of his life growing up on the Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve and how he spoke the language growing up and how he speaks to and teaches the students at both Eastern Michigan and University of Michigan now. All panelists agreed that one of the key ways to keep the language going was to teach the new mothers the language so they can then teach their children.
Eastern Michigan also held its annual Fall Feast at the campus Student Center, where students, community and faculty enjoyed the drums by "Blue Lake Singers" and had one spontaneous Two-Step dance break out in the Dining Room to the amusement of all participating.
Eastern Michigan will be ending its festivities for Native American Heritage Month with a lecture by writer Shirley Cheechoo (Cree). Shirley Cheechoo began directing films in 1998, after working as an actor and playwright of notable plays such as "Path with No Moccasins" (1991).
Cheechoo teaches drama workshops to Native youth across Ontario, and has founded a touring youth drama company, the Debahjehmujig Theatre Group, which often performs in the Ojibwe language. She has won first prize awards for her works at numerous film festivals including Montreal's First Peoples Festival, the Santa Fe Film Festival, and the American Indian Film Festival of San Francisco.
-- Brita V. Brookes"Creative Ideas At Work"
More photos at:
http://britabrookesphotgraphy.wordpress.com/http://www.myspace.com/missbinthed

Western Shohsone battle gold rush

Caretakers of the Land

Western Shoshone wage battle against modern gold rush
by Meg Hewings
The Dominion
Excerpt: Not only has the US government used Shoshone lands to test hundreds of nuclear weapons, dispose of thousands of metric tonnes of radioactive waste, and proposed Yucca Mountain as a national dumpsite for (even more) deadly nuclear waste; modern corporate gold mining, including many Canadian operations, now threatens to gouge the heart right out of Western Shoshone territory.
“Two years ago they counted over 260,000 abandoned mines in Nevada – and that’s not counting new ones opening up,” says Larson Bill, Vice-Chairman for the South Fork Shoshone community and Community Organizer for the Western Shoshone Defense Project (WSDP), established to protect, preserve and restore Shoshone – or as they are also known, Newe – rights and lands for present and future generations.
Despite their small staff, the Defense Project’s office is abuzz with activity, work and noise on this day, as most. Even so, Bill manages to remain measured and thoughtful on the phone as he explains the tribe’s latest struggle.
These days he and the WSDP are busy trying to stop the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US government from permitting Canadian-owned Barrick Gold Corporation, now the world’s largest gold-mining company, from mining on or any nearer to Mt. Tenabo, a sacred mountain to the Western Shoshone and fundamental to Newe worship.
“Mt. Tenabo, the proposed site for Barrick’s latest expansion project, is home to Shoshone creation stories,” says Julie Cavanaugh-Bill (formerly Fishel), lawyer for the WSDP. What the mining company is planning is akin to razing churches or mosques, according to the WSDP.
Read article http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2218

Longest walkers and fearlessness

Here's a photo worth taking another look at. The walkers on the Longest Walk northern route stand before Newmont mining in downtown Denver, in solidarity with the Western Shoshone, and Indigenous Peoples all over the world, fighting the gold mining that is destroying their lands and coring out their mountains. Although Newmont had already called the police when this photo was taken on March 24, 2008, the walkers stood resolute and fearless. There were no arrests, and a resolution was delivered to Newmont. It remains a stellar moment. Photo Brenda Norrell
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