Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

August 31, 2009

Notebook: Photos of Resistance

Photos by Brenda Norrell: Jose Matus, Yaqui, in the Zapatistas stronghold in the mountains of Chiapas, Indigenous delegation to Chiapas 1995. Photo 2: Riley, Choctaw from Oklahoma, marching in Tucson and remembering the victims of the Acteal massacre in Chiapas. Photo 3: Filmmakers Chris Eyre and Norman Brown at Sundance Film Festival.

Tar Sands: Obama failing promises on global warming

Message:
Reversing this permit is key.
Tar sands-based gasoline is expected to have a very significantly higher greenhouse gas impact than normal gasoline, probably putting it on a par or worse than coal, due to all the extra energy required. The tar sands development process itself is like combining open-pit mining with petroleum refining, "cooking" sediment to release the fuel. It destroys ecosystems.
President Obama made some strong statements against global warming earlier this year on a visit to Canada. Unfortunately, the Administration did not follow through.
Contact http://www.whitehouse.gov/contactand ask the Administration to reverse the Enbridge Energy/Alberta Clipper pipeline permit decision, denying a tar sands pipeline.
---------In a decision issued on August 19th, Leech Lake Tribal Court Judge BJ Jones declined an attempt by Enbridge LLC to keep members of the Leech Lake tribe from voting on Enbridge’s contract with the Leech Lake Council. The decision keeps alive a David versus Goliath lawsuit between members of the Leech Lake tribe and Enbridge LLC.
The previous week, Leech Lake tribal members went to court to seek an injunction to revoke permission for Enbridge Energy Company to build its pipeline on Leech Lake Tribal land.
"Controversial Enbridge pipeline permit sparks criticism in Canada, U.S.
By CAROL CHRISTIAN,
Today staff
The U.S. presidential permit granted Thursday for Enbridge's controversial Alberta Clipper pipeline has launched environmental protests on both sides of the border, with opponents vowing a legal challenge.
According to a coalition of environmental and Native American groups, the decision goes against U.S. President Barack Obama's promise to cut global warming pollution and America's addition to oil while investing in clean energy.
The groups — Earthjustice and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy as well as the Canadian and American offices of the Sierra Club and the Indigenous Environmental Network — have vowed to challenge the decision in court.
In addition, the indigenous network based in Minnesota is looking into the validity of the permit, as it wasn't signed by Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state, as required. Marty Cobenais of the network said it was signed ..." (30 August 2009)
More information at: http://www.ienearth.org/tarsandscampaign_stopenbridgeoilpipeline.html

August 30, 2009

Notebook: Photos of Native American Resistance




Photos by Brenda Norrell: Photo 1: Cordell Tulley and Earl Tulley at Roberta Blackgoat's home in Cactus Valley near Big Mountain, waiting for the threatened forced relocation of Navajos and arrival of agents. The sign: "Sue the Creator." Photo 2: Ulali with Oneida comedian Charlie Hill and Hopi/Navajo photographer Larry Gus on Alcatraz. Photo 3: Whale jaws: Navajo filmmaker Arlene Bowman on Seri land on the coast of Sonora, Mexico, during a gathering to uphold fishing rights of Indigenous fishermen.
Photo 1: Feb. 1, 2000: Deadline Day
BIG MOUNTAIN, Ariz. -- On the morning when Kee Watchman and Roberta Blackgoat were officially declared in trespass in their own homes in this rugged canyon country, they sat by an open cookfire together and placed their faith and fate solely in the Creator.
Placing his hand firmly on his heart, Watchman said, "In my feelings in my heart, from the bottom of my heart, it doesn't feel like eviction is going to happen."
"Traditional Hopi told us don't ever take what the government offers us, and don't ever leave the land. They said if we do, 'That will be it. Black Mesa will not be safe.'
On the short wave radio at Blackgoat's stonehouse in the remote Cactus Valley area of Big Mountain, Navajo resisters were linked with Floyd Westerman and addressed a relocation protest at a federal building in San Francisco.
-- Brenda Norrell, Feb. 1, 2000
In memory of Roberta Blackgoat, Kee Watchman and Floyd Westerman.
MORE PHOTOS:

MNN: Capitalist moral reality

CAPITALIST MORAL REALITY

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

MNN. Aug. 13, 2009. Capitalism is based on a few ruling elite exploiting Indigenous land, stealing our resources and enslaving everybody. The worldwide economic melt down shows that people are resisting. They want something new, not a system of privilege for a few.
Capitalism does not meet human needs. It is breaking down. The oligarchs want to avoid losses. Violent struggles are breaking out. They scream the need for an international government in the hands of a few to protect their interests.
This economic collapse came at the same time as when we Indigenous began to object to the decline, decay and extreme parasitism of these greedy oligarchs. We began to resist the destruction of our environment, the dissolution of social programs, jobs and our lives.
The oligarchs do not work. They treat workers like slaves. The capitalists sit back and take at least 40% of the profit. The economy has gotten smaller with less to make, take or share. To keep money coming in, the capitalists moved companies to third world or off-shore locations to exploit cheaper labor. For a time the profits increased by reducing the cost, making more products and not raising the prices. Microsoft and Walmart used cheap labor in China.
The US encouraged spending on credit. Buying and selling increases the value of the share but not the value of the asset.
The real value of a house might be $150,000. The market inflates it to $500,000. The banks, insurance and other middle men pocket the difference of $350,000 by passing the property around and bailing each other out as if it’s a $500,000 asset. If the owner defaults on the mortgage, they foreclose on the loan and seize the house. They make money without investing a cent!
The European bourgeoisie ran world finances after WWI. After WWII global stabilization relied on the bankers to manipulate Indigenous resources. Europe and Japan became dominant through higher technology and superior production methods. The US dollar became the international currency based on $35 per oz. of gold. In 1971 it collapsed when Nixon suspended the gold standard. The U.S dollar was treated as if it was gold and became the world currency. The U.S. has deteriorated in the world economy and the dollar is now declining in value.
Mergers and acquisitions created monopolies with control in the hands of a few. A company was taken over and then put out of business, to eliminate competition and to control the market. The financiers make money in the process. Then they use the profits to buy other companies. The emphasis is on short term gain for themselves rather than long term good for the people. The taxpayers are forced to cover the fall out.
Companies pretend to own Indigenous resources. Our land and resources are put up as collateral to gouge money from the public on the stock exchange. This is fraud. Then the oligarchs pocket the money.
The capitalist system is parasitic and corrupt. The middle class have been impoverished. Workers pension schemes are being bankrupt and robbed to impoverish us in our old age. Medicare may not be around for us.
Today monopolies want unionized workers to accept a two-tier working condition and pension system, one for the older generation and another for the newly hired. The capitalists want the new workers to lower their standard of living, work harder and longer for no benefits and less money. Millions of desperate displaced workers are being created into an army of migrant slaves without any rights.
Private ownership of production and wealth is in a clash with the real needs of society. The old oligarchs are desperately clinging to their class privilege. They are obstructing sensible solutions because it would undermine their wealth, status and desires. They have control of the money, government, state machinery, army, police and prisons.
The world needs to be transformed into another level of consciousness. The resources have to be preserved and everybody has to be equitably looked after. The U.S. is falling behind. This is leading to fierce competition which could lead to war. People need to demand an anti-war government.
The strategy of corporate raiders is lay offs, union busting, wage cuts and reducing benefits to control the wealth and the people. Capitalism’s downfall will lead to violent political convulsions, dictatorships, rampant militarism, fascism and, maybe, war.
We Indigenous must stop the looting of our resources. The true custodians of the land and resources have a rich political history that is based on everybody being equal, having a voice and a concensus on how we shall proceed. The Great Law is a true democracy based on our relationship with the natural world and preserving the environment. The time will soon be here where we will have to look after each other. Stock up and grow gardens!
Kahentinetha MNN Mohawk Nation News, www.mohawknationnews.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Or go to PayPal on website. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “World” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now!

Cicero and the Great Law

CICERO AND THE GREAT LAW -
Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

MNN. Aug. 24, 2009. History repeats itself. As Cicero said [106-43 BC], “A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less dangerous, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the people. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor doesn’t appear like a traitor. They speak in the accents familiar to their victims. They wear their face and their clothes and appeal to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of their people. They rot the soul of a nation. They work secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a community. They infect the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the plague."
Sounds like the colonial band and tribal council system set up by the invaders, which violates the Great Law, our constitution and philosophy. The only legal national governments on Great Turtle Island are those of the Indigenous Peoples. Those band or tribal councilors secretly negotiating with these pirates are committing treason [Great Law, Wampum 58].
At the near empty U.S. border crossing on the south shore a few trucks sit while cars cross the bridge.
The Canadian border mobsters have left Akwesasne for good. The temporary checkpoint tent set up by the Canadian Border Services Agency CBSA sits on a small sliver of Akwesasne land. These robber barons sit around waiting to pounce on passers-by to confiscate money and favors.
The old abandoned Canada customs house in the middle of Kawenoke on Cornwall Island rests empty, boarded up like those foreclosed homes and businesses caused by capitalist corruption. It has a lonely sign telling us to proceed slowly. Spiders, raccoons, ants, birds, bats, coyotes, foxes and mice are sniffing around waiting to start making permanent homes. Vines and natural growth are already starting to envelope the buildings. As time goes on, this and other imperial neo-con infra structures will crumble and mother nature will take over. Great Turtle Island will once again look like a garden burying colonial ghosts. The portable checkpoint looks like those quickie cardboard stolen goods salestables on the sidewalks of Time Square.
This posse wants us to come across from the US side of Akwesasne, drive over the bridge, go through Kawenoke and over the bridge to Cornwall. Then they want us to check in with them so they can extort something and let us cross the bridge back to our homes in Kawenoke. Few actually do it. Everybody knows the checkpoints of these two invading entities are legal. Our law predominates on Great Turtle Island. [Read the Mohawk Manifesto].
On August 13th at the Canadian border tent eight Mohawks were pulled over, handcuffed and arrested. One was charged with running the port in a previous lifetime. They were kept in a compound without food or water. One was seven months pregnant. One managed to use his cell phone, “They’re detaining us”, he yelled.
The goons got angry at the detainees for speaking Mohawk. They supposedly had just finished taking cultural sensitivity training, which seems to be making them oversensitive to us. They could learn to politely say SEGO, ONEN and NIA:WEN? They probably want a law making Mohawk at the border a criminal offence.
A group of elders and people went over to see what was going on. The border goons refused to let them see the detainees. Natalie the Liar came out and told us, “Believe me, believe me”, two have been sent to Ottawa, two to the RCMP holding station and two to Cornwall. It wasn’t true.
Eventually the detainees were charged with “hindrance”, or not smiling or something, and released at 1 am, except for the one who supposedly ran the imaginary line.
In the North Shore Claim Mohawks want the land back and refuse money. The Canadian band council puppets want money. CBSA knows they will soon have to break camp and move again.
Trying to confuse the issue are a few people who declare themselves to be natural human beings, not Mohawks. These hippie types are flashing around Egyptian symbols. They say we signed the preposterous Camel Hair Treaty of 409 AD that brought down the Roman Empire!! They even carry new age camel hair identity cards. Shouldn’t they be on stone tablets? They tell us the Moors were here before us. A few of our people are being recruited to become mindless flakes to eliminate Ongwehonwe thinking. These preachers gave up and incite others to give up.
We Mohawks have a responsibility to assert our inherent relationship on Great Turtle Island and to uphold the Great Law. Those adhering to foreign doctrines are committing espionage, conspiracy and treason.
Our birthright cannot be blurred by cult followers or anyone else. Such false prophets and their illusions might be sent in to disrupt, demoralize and confuse us. We should rely on ourselves, our own laws, our language and our relationships that we can substantiate.
These foreign fantasies are trying to overshadow what we know, touch, feel and see. It’s meant to stop us from working in harmony with each other, the natural world and the Great Law.
To stop the CBSA from coming in, we need to keep our fire going and to erect a building. To help, please contact akwpeoplesfire@bell.net 613-937-1813 613-937-1813.Kahentinetha MNN Mohawk Nation News, www.mohawknationnews.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Or go to PayPal on website. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “BORDER” and “AKWESASNE” categories 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

August 29, 2009

Sundance Chief to fast at White House for Peltier

"Sundance Chief to Fast at White House in Honor of Leonard Peltier: Seeks meeting with President Obama"
Message:
As a result of Leonard Peltier's recent PAROLE DENIAL, Sundance Chief Ben Carnes, a member of the Choctaw Nation, will go to Washington, D.C.to stand & Fast in front of the White House between September 5 - 12, 2009, in hopes of securing a meeting with President Obama.
As a written, request for a meeting with President Obama made by The Leonard Peltier-Defense Offense Committee was denied earlier this year by the White House
We are also calling for a 24 - Hour, World Wide Birthday Vigil on September 11th , beginning at 8:45 AM through September 12th , 2009
Leonard Peltier has reached International celebrity, based upon critical questions surrounding his conviction in 1977 in the deaths of two FBI agents. Amnesty International has designated Peltier, as a Political Prisoner in which a U.S. prosecutor has admitted in court during an appeal hearing that he did not know who killed the agents and cannot prove who did. A federal judge who heard this statement was unable to afford any relief, wrote a letter to Sen. Inouye to ask the President to grant Clemency.

August 28, 2009

Mount Rushmore: Anniversary of Occupation

Press contacts:
Quanah Parker Brightman- 510-672-7187
Gay Kingman 605-484-3036

Native Americans to gather in Keystone, South Dakota to Commemorate the 39th Year Anniversary of the Historic Invasion and Occupation of the ''National Shrine of Democracy' Mount Rushmore and to bring awareness to the importance of Protecting our Mother Earth & Demand Clemency For Leonard Peltier.
What: Gathering to Reclaim Sacred Sites & Freedom For Leonard Peltier When: Saturday August 29th, 10:00am to 3:00pm Where: Amphitheater, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Amphitheater, Keystone South Dakota Sponsors: United Americans Inc.(U.N.A)

August 29, 2009 marks the 39th anniversary of the historic Mount Rushmore Occupation of 1970. Native Americans representing groups from around the Country will gather to Demand President Obama to Return All Stolen Lands to the Indigenous People's of Turtle Island and To Free Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier after Over 33 Year's of Wrongful Incarceration. Our Mother Earth is a precious resource that has been and continues to be desecrated and abused for money and greed. Action must be taken NOW to save what few sacred sites indigenous people still have and return land that has been Illegally taken by the United States of America.
On August 29th 1970, a small group of young Indians invaded Mount Rushmore, the so-called ’national shrine of democracy' The invasion brought together Indians form different tribes and reservations who converged to help the Sioux Nation in their efforts to reclaim the sacred Black Hills and to force the Federal Government to be held accountable for the illegal taking of their Lands. At 7pm on August 29th, after eluding authorities, the group of young natives reached the top of the mountain near the four faces of the presidents where they hung a large flag with the words: SIOUX INDIAN POWER. The Paha Sapa-The Black Hills-is a sacred place for all Sioux People. It is where all Sioux life began,where our creation stories originate from 'The heart of everything that is'

United Native Americans is sponsoring the gathering and demanding that all sacred sites across turtle island be returned to the First Nations People of America, that The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 be Recognized and Honored by The United States of America. U.S. Courts have recognized the illegality of these actions and offer modest payments, but the Sioux Nation Remains determined to get the Black Hills Returned to Tribal Communities & To Demand Clemency for Leonard Peltier.

UNA inc. calls for President Obama to lead us into the future with an environment that is safe to live in with out having to wear a mask to step out side or to be fearful of the water we drink that pours out of our faucets. We call on the EPA to step up and stop the mass consumption of our natural resources for there will be No future for our mother earth….NO future for our children!

Climate scientists have clearly stated that we need to reduce our emissions by 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80-95% by 2050. If we do less than that, we risk crossing a tipping point that will bring about the worst impacts of global warming — devastating floods, droughts, wildfires, and storms.
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives recently passed a climate bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), that sets targets far below those mandated by science — largely because the fossil fuels industries were allowed a huge amount of influence in revising the legislation. The bill is so weak that it may actually spur a new generation of dirty coal and dangerous nuclear plants
Source: Eco Factory

August 27, 2009

Havasupai Gather to Halt Uranium Mining



Havasupai Gather to Halt Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon
By Brenda Norrell
August 26, 2009

Indigenous Havasupai people held a gathering to stop uranium mining in the Grand Canyon and protect ancestral Havasupai Territory, at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, in July of 2009. Indigenous peoples and activists came from the four directions, from Arizona Hopi land and from as far away as Hawaii, to participate with sacred songs and ceremonies.

Native Americans came from the four directions, from Hopi land and fromas far away as Hawaii, to support the Supai to halt uranium mining inthe Grand Canyon. Photo: Brenda Norrell.
For four days, Havasupai elders gathered on sacred Red Butte and listened to the legacy of uranium mining on Indian lands. They heard directly from the victims of the trail of death and cancer left behind by uranium mining corporations that were never held responsible on Pueblo and Navajo lands in the Southwest United States. They also listened to the promise of solidarity from the hundreds who gathered here to stand with them: Navajos from Big Mountain, Hualapai, Hopi, Kaibab Paiute, Paiute, Aztecs, and other American Indians from throughout the Americas.
The Havasupai Nation, with the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Grand Canyon Trust, sponsored the gathering to halt uranium mining on Red Butte, July 23-26, 2009. Supai elders gave testimony for official U.S. records in their Havasupai (Pai) language and in English. Supai traditional singers sang as a camp was established on this mesa where Toronto-based Denison Mines is threatening to reopen a uranium mine.
Recent congressional legislation protects the Grand Canyon from new mining claims, but does not deter mining under existing claims held by Denison and others. When the price of uranium increased in recent years and new interest in nuclear power grew, mining claims exploded in Arizona, even in the pristine region of the Grand Canyon. Supai Waters, Havasupai Keeper of the Water Songs, said his people are the Guardians of the Grand Canyon. He said uranium mining here is not just a threat to the Colorado River and tourists who come to see the Eighth Wonder of the World, but to Supai drinking water, underground aquifers, and drinking water in Southwest cities.
Speaking of the Supai responsibility to protect the land, water, and air here from the poisons of mining, Supai Waters said, "If we do let this happen, we would be the murderers of the world. We cannot let that happen." He said that protection of the Grand Canyon also affects the weather patterns and climate of the earth.
"My people have lived in the canyon since time immemorial. The canyons contain power points and vortexes. If there is tampering or pillaging, the earth will not be the same. There are places where we guard. These sacred places have to do with the weather, the wind, the sun, the celestial movements. That is why we are here protecting it," Supai Waters said.
Matthew Putesoy, vice chairman of the Havasupai Nation, said the Grand Canyon is a national treasure, inviting 5 million people every year to explore and be inspired by its beauty. "To the Havasuw 'Baaja, who have lived in the region for many hundreds of years, it is sacred. As the 'guardians of the Grand Canyon,' we strenuously object to mining for uranium here. It is a threat to the health of our environment and tribe, our tourism-based economy, and our religion."
Putesoy thanked Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar for announcing a two-year moratorium on new mining claims in the 1 million acres of lands around Grand Canyon National Park. However, Putesoy said existing claims, such as those pursued by Canadian-based Denison Mines Corp., still threaten the animals, air, drinking water, and people of the region. Denison, which has staked 110 claims around the Grand Canyon, is seeking groundwater-aquifer permits that would allow it to reopen the Canyon Mine, near Red Butte, as well as two other mining sites, Putesoy said.
"Here, mining could poison the aquifer, which extends for 5,000 square miles under the Coconino Plateau, and serves as drinking water for our tribe and neighboring communities. As I told Congress recently, if our water were polluted, we could not relocate to Phoenix or someplace else and still survive as the Havasupai Tribe. We are the Grand Canyon.
"Most importantly, Red Butte, where Denison Mines intends to reopen a mine, is a traditional site sacred to the Havasuw 'Baaja. Located in the Kaibab National Forest, Red Butte is known as Wii'i Gdwiisa, meaning 'clenched-fist mountain'."
Putesoy, quoting longtime Havasupai leader Rex Tilousi, said, "'Red Butte is the lungs of our Grandmother Canyon.' My people have used these traditional Havasupai religious areas for centuries. Instead of allowing the destruction of our national treasure, we are asking the federal government to work with the Havasupai Tribe to protect Red Butte and all of the lands on and around the Grand Canyon from further mining activities. This natural wonder is irreplaceable and demands our shared action and protection for those living now, and those yet to be born," Putesoy said.
Pueblo and Navajo Uranium Victims Panel
Guardians of the Grand Canyon, Havasupai, pause in frontof sacred Red Butte in Havasupai Territory, as they gatheredfor four days to halt uranium mining. Recent legislation toprotect the Grand Canyon from mining does not apply toexisting mining claims. Photo: Brenda Norrell.
Pueblos and Navajos gave oral testimonies during the Uranium Victims Panel. Introducing the panel, Carletta Tilousi, Havasupai, said, "When I heard their stories, it changed my life forever." Tilousi said the people will stand united to fight for sacred places, water, land, air, and people.
Manuel Pino, Acoma Pueblo, said his people have lived with a 50-year legacy of uranium mining, living in the heart of the Grants uranium belt in northwest New Mexico. There were numerous uranium mines, and the Jackpile Mine, in neighboring Laguna Pueblo, was the largest ore producer in the United States.
Laguna Pueblo housed the Jackpile Mine for 30 years. The mine was located only 2,000 feet from the Laguna village of Paguate and 24 million tons of ore were mined. Over 90% of the ore went to one source: the U.S. Department of Defense for weapons of mass destruction.
"Not only were we tearing up the earth, but the ore was going to weapons that the United States now has stockpiled all over the world and have not been decommissioned or taken care of," Pino said during the panel. One of the heroes of this movement honored was Dorothy Purley of Paguate village in Laguna Pueblo, an ore truck driver at Jackpile Mine and cancer victim who became a founder of the current Native American movement against uranium mining. Pino said Purley was a victim of lymphoma and passed to the Spirit World in the year 2000, just months after receiving the international Nuclear Free Future Award. She was an inspiration to the Native American movement that now battles uranium mining and educates others.
Pino praised the efforts of Phil Harrison, Navajo from Red Valley, who served on the panel at the Supai gathering. Harrison was instrumental in the congressional passage of the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which compensates victims of the nuclear fuel chain, mainly uranium workers, atomic veterans, and those living downwind from atomic text sites.
Today, Harrison helps Navajo and Pueblo victims file claims and serves as a Navajo councilman. Harrison said his father died at 45 from lung cancer and many of his other family members died. For 30 years Harrison has fought this battle. He said uranium mining brought no benefits to the Navajo Nation. Harrison questioned where the promised high schools and parks are.
"What do we have? We have lung cancer, various illnesses, and birth defects." There is also leukemia and kidney failure. In the hard-hit communities of Cove and Red Valley in the Four Corners region of the Navajo Nation, he said Navajos stopped farming because they feared the radioactive contamination flowing down the mountain with the streams.
Harrison said the companies got off free and were never held responsible because the companies mined the uranium for the U.S. government. He said attempts to file suit against the corporation were met with the response that the uranium was being mined for the U.S. government and nothing could be done. Harrison said that meanwhile the radioactive waste from the nuclear industry winds up back on Indian lands. He said while Native Americans live with the radioactivity, cancer, and death, the corporate owners of mines live in the clean cities, free from contamination.
Larry King, Navajo panelist from the Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining, recently helped organize a 30-year commemoration of the devastating Church Rock, NM spill, whose victims were Navajos. Pino said the Church Rock spill on July 16, 1979, was the largest amount of radiation emitted at one time in the history of the nuclear fuel chain in the United States. Now, 30 years after this nuclear catastrophe, the federal government still has not restored this area where Navajos make their homes, Pino said.
Pino spoke of the Navajo and Pueblo mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, and aunts who have died or who are now dying of cancer. "It is not a happy story," Pino said. "We are here to stop this nuclear nightmare. As Indigenous Peoples, we are the last ones to be served." Today, there are 550 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation that have not been cleaned up. "We are a low priority when it comes to the federal government cleaning up these nuclear catastrophes."
Pino said this would never happen if radioactive tailings were strewn in the nearby cities of Albuquerque, Phoenix, or Flagstaff. "Because we are indigenous people, still traditional based and advocating our traditional based-knowledge, we are sometimes considered obstacles, because of our traditional world view to protect Mother Earth."
Carletta Garcia, daughter of Dorothy Purley, told the gathering that she grew up in Paguate, home of the world's largest open-pit uranium mine. She grew up with the deafening sounds and jolts of the constant blasts to loosen the ore. It shook the whole mesa and the radioactive dust would be sprinkled on the eating tables. "We ate it with our lunch."
Garcia said in 1975 her mother began driving an ore truck. The only safety equipment was a safety hat, goggles, and a flashlight. The workers were never told of the dangers of uranium. The tribe thought the mine would bring revenues and wealth. It brought wealth and death. Lagunas did not realize what would happen 30 years later. Garcia's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993. "We cried, I hugged my mother, I told my mother we are not going to let this take over us, we are going to fight."
"My mother was a real trooper." But her mom also began realizing that other Pueblo people were dying all around her. Her relatives were dying. It was stomach cancer, leukemia, childhood leukemia, and other cancers. Garcia remembered the first day her mother began losing her hair. She took off her red scarf. "Her hair began fluttering with the wind. We cried."
Still, her mother traveled and fought the battle to halt uranium mining and educate other Native Americans. Then one day, Garcia said, "She said it was time to go." Garcia's husband, who grew up in the village, was also diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. Her husband died in 1995, twelve days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 50 years old. Now, Garcia is a widow, and her health is beginning to fail; she said, "I am afraid for my children, I am afraid for your children. We don't need this uranium."
"All of these children here are so precious. I keep watching the children and hoping they will never get sick and never face what I had to, and hoping you young ladies will never be widowed," Garcia told the gathering.
"In Numbers, There is Strength"
During the panel, Larry King, Navajo from Church Rock, NM, told the gathering how he worked for the United Nuclear Corporation from 1975 to 1983 as an underground mine surveyor. King said he has lived all his life in Church Rock and still raises his cattle on the land where he grew up. Now, a community activist, he said Navajos in the communities of Church Rock, Pinedale, Coyote Canyon, and Iyanbito, NM, have suffered greatly from uranium mining.
At Church Rock, the break in the dam at the tailings pond was the largest uranium spill from the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) tailing pond, with 94 million gallons of contaminated water flooding into the Puerco wash (arroyo or stream), which wraps around his grazing area, and flows through Navajo communities, before it meets up with the Little Colorado River.
UNC installed pumps at the operation and for more than 20 years, from the 1960s through the 1980s, the contaminated underground water was pumped into four ponds. Those ponds were unlined and unprotected against seepage, King said.
"This water was eventually released into several unnamed washes, which meet up with the Puerco wash. So even prior to the UNC spill of July 16, 1979, there was already untreated water being released into the Puerco wash for more than 20 years."
"Every time you walked up to the wash, you could smell the real bad smell that used to emit from the wash and the yellowish slime that would collect along the stream bed." Today, the uranium contamination has seeped deeper into the ground, a fact that is revealed when Navajos install water lines for their homes. King smelled the stench when his water line was dug and saw the yellowish color.
"Our community continues to suffer from the mining operations." There are 20 un-reclaimed uranium mines in his community. He said the uranium was used for weapons of mass destruction. Navajos knew they lived in a contaminated community, but in recent years the extent of the serious contamination of the water, land, and air has become obvious. The mining companies in the Church Rock, NM region included Phillips Petroleum Company, UNC, and Hydro Resources Corp. (HRC). HRC, which left behind a waste pile, now has a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to mine uranium there again. The targeted land borders the Navajo Nation land where uranium mining is now halted, but the mining could poison the aquifer and destroy the water supply of Navajos. Navajos at ENDAUM are now fighting HRC's plan to mine.
King said Navajos were never told of the dangers of exposure to uranium or the health effects in years to come. He said many of his coworkers died from cancer. "As an underground worker, the only safety equipment we were given were hard hats and rubber boots, nothing else."
The workers were never told that breathing the dust and drinking the water exposed them to radiation, he related. In the mines, there were downpours underground of contaminated waters. They were never told that eating their lunches underground would contaminate them. King said UNC was able to appear in compliance when OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspectors came because the company was informed in advance and knew the inspectors were coming. Suddenly, ventilation fans were rerouted and barricades would go up. OSHA would give a passing grade, but the next day it would be business as usual in the tunnels, where there was no ventilation.
King, like other Navajos, is now suffering from asthma, respiratory problems, and arthritis. He is fighting Hydro Resources Corporation's new plan for in situ uranium mining. King said Navajos have already been warned about Hyrdo Resources' false promises by victims in Texas and elsewhere. "We need to make a stand and say, 'No more.' We have to think about our future and our water."
In situ uranium mining uses injection wells, which inject chemicals and make the ore into a liquid. Then centrifugal force in the production well brings the ore to the surface. Pino said the process is a great threat to the water of the Grand Canyon, where the aquifers are like underground rivers. In situ uranium mining could poison the entire watershed.
Dennis Banks: Solidarity
Dennis Banks, cofounder of the AmericanIndian Movement, joined the Havasupaiat the gathering against uranium mining.Banks, who recently had a heart attack,vowed to stand with the Supai to halturanium mining. Photo: Brenda Norrell.
During the gathering, Dennis Banks, Ojibwe from Minnesota and cofounder of the American Indian Movement, opened his talk with these words, "We are all Havasupai when it comes to this struggle.
"Whatever our roots are, whenever there is oppression, whenever people are being hurt, whenever there are mining companies that are destroying our land, we have to stand up," Banks said.
Banks said Native people are born into struggle. "It will never go away." Banks urged everyone in the struggle to give it their all, since the mining companies are ready to seize the land and water. "They don't want part of our land—they want all of the land."
Banks said his own Ojibwe Council is trying to negotiate away land to a corporation for millions of dollars. But the grassroots people are saying no. "Not one more inch, not one more acre, not one more tree, not one more blade of grass are we going to give up for these people exploiting our land."
Banks warned that companies tear away at the culture, which is "the very fabric of who we are." He said Indian people must never forget that they were once hunted down like dogs and chased down by men on horseback. The language, too, should be held sacred; the traditional languages stolen from so many when Indian children were ripped from their parents and put in boarding schools. Banks said acre after acre of fertile land has been destroyed and Indian people are sick and tired of these mining companies. At Red Butte in Havasupai Territory, he said the fragrant sage growing wild here would be replaced with the "stench of mining" if any corporation were allowed to mine.
Louise Benally and her brother John Benally came from their home in Big Mountain, to show their support for the resistance to the uranium mine. The Benallys have spent their lives in the resistance to the relocation of Navajos in Arizona. They came with the message of solidarity of struggle.
During two days of meetings, following two days of ceremonies, Roland Manakaja said the Havasupai are not only battling the desecration of uranium mining, but they are also battling the desecration of another point considered part of the sacred geography—the San Francisco Peaks. There, developers have announced a plan to make snow out of sewage water for tourism at the Snowbowl ski resort. If this happens, Manajaka affirmed, the Snowbowl will be known as "the toilet bowl," and the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Grand Canyon, will become known as the "Eighth Blunder of the World."
"Make no mistake, mining company," he said. "We will be there in your face every day!"
Tiny Hanna, Supai elder, told of the time when Havasupai were at home in the canyon, before it was claimed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was a time when Supai grew their crops below the mesa of Red Butte, in the canyon, before tourists from around the world began pouring in. Seated around the dinner tables, Supai elders told of their lives now in the canyon, southwest of here in the Grand Canyon at Supai, accessible only by foot, mule, or helicopter from the rim above.
New Ways to Get the Word Out
On Red Butte at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, the Guardiansof the Grand Canyon, Havasupai, sing traditional songs in frontof the Earthcycles bus. Earthcycles, http://www.earthcycles.net,recorded the testimony and songs for the Supai and broadcastlive on the Internet and FM radio during the four day gatheringto halt uranium mining in the Grand Canyon in July.Photo: Brenda Norrell.
During the gathering, Hopi, Navajo, Yavapai, Aztecs, and other traditional singers shared their songs with the Supai. The sounds of traditional Birdsongs filled the four days, along with the modern sounds of some of the best Native American singers in the music industry: Keith Secola, Casper and the 602 Band, Burning Sky performing with John Densmore of the Doors, Clarence Clearwater, Summit Dub Squad, and others, shared reggae, folk, and hip hop.
Earthcycles grassroots radio, broadcast for four days, all day each day, live on the Internet globally, and portions of the days were broadcast locally on the FM radio. The testimony of the elders was recorded for hearings and Congress, with the audios preserved in public files and now available for listening at http://www.earthcycles.net/.
Govinda Dalton has a passion for grassroots radio and believes in providing a vehicle for the voices of the people. He drove in from California in his bus, equipped with solar power and a satellite. The solar panels provided electricity for the gathering, including powering the sound system, and the satellite provided Internet service for broadcasting.
Earlier, Earthcycles broadcast live for five months across America on the Longest Walk in 2008 and at the Indigenous Border Summits of the Americas in 2006 and 2007 in Arizona. Dalton views grassroots radio as a means of social change and a mechanism for a new evolving consciousness for humanity. He said it is essential to air the voices of the people since the media is heavily controlled and censored.
Speaking of the corporations who have contaminated this region for decades, Pino said, "Why would they want to mine uranium in one of the natural wonders of the world like the Grand Canyon? If they will mine uranium here, they will mine uranium anywhere. They have no heart, they have no soul."


Censored Newshttp://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Listen to Garfield Nish, Hualapai

Censored News Blog Talk Radio: Today, Garfield Nish, Hualapai, sings Birdsongs and offers words of truth at the Havasupai Gathering to Halt Uranium Mining. Flagstaff Mayor Sara Presler speaks out against sewage water for snow making on sacred San Francisco Peaks at the Snowbowl, uranium mining in the Grand Canyon and ethics violations at Arizona State University. Music by Navajo Clarence Clearwater, second Navajo to refuse induction into the US military, 1969; Hopi Water Maidens and Garfield Nish, Hualapai, recorded by Earthcycles:
Listen NOW at Censored Blogtalk Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell
Listen at Censored News:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Interior begins new protections for Grand Canyon

Contacts: Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 310-6713Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust, (928) 774-7488Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club – Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790
Interior Begins Analysis of New Grand Canyon Uranium Protections

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (Aug. 26, 2009) The Department of the Interior today published a Federal Register notice announcing its preparation of an environmental impact statement evaluating a proposed 20-year “mineral withdrawal” that would prohibit new mining claims and the exploration or mining of existing claims without valid existing rights across nearly 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park.
The purpose of the mineral withdrawal would be to protect Grand Canyon’s watersheds from the adverse effects of new uranium exploration and mining. If approved, the withdrawal would extend and strengthen protections set forth in the two-year land segregation announced by the Interior Department on July 20, 2009.
“Allowing the uranium industry to mine within Grand Canyon’s watersheds would entail contamination risks that aren’t worth taking,” said Taylor McKinnon, public lands campaigns director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “A 20-year mineral withdrawal would go a long way toward securing the Grand Canyon’s future.”
Spikes in uranium prices have caused thousands of new uranium claims, dozens of proposed exploration drilling projects, and proposals to reopen old uranium mines adjacent to Grand Canyon. Renewed uranium development threatens to degrade wildlife habitat and industrialize now-wild and iconic landscapes bordering the park; it also threatens to contaminate aquifers that discharge into Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River. The Park Service warns against drinking from several creeks in the Canyon exhibiting elevated uranium levels in the wake of past uranium mining.
“Uranium mining has already done irreparable harm to our region’s people, water, and land,” said Grand Canyon Trust spokesman Roger Clark. “We should not repeat the mistakes of the past on our public watersheds surrounding the Grand Canyon.”
Proposed uranium development has provoked a rash of litigation, public protests, and statements of concern and opposition from scientists, city officials, county officials, former Governor Janet Napolitano, the Navajo, Kaibab Paiute, Hopi and Havasupai tribes, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Statewide polling conducted by Public Opinion Strategies shows overwhelming public support for withdrawing from mineral entry the lands near Grand Canyon; Arizonans support protecting the Grand Canyon area from uranium mining by a two-to-one margin.
“This withdrawal process represents an exciting opportunity to protect the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and the many seeps and springs that feed this system,” said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter.
“By doing this, we will better safeguard the drinking water of millions of people downstream as well.”
The deadline for public comment on the first phase of the mineral withdrawal analysis is October 19, 2009. The Bureau of Land Management will be leading the analysis in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Other federal and state agencies and tribes may become cooperating agencies by request.

August 26, 2009

Reclaiming Sacred Sites, Mount Rushmore Aug. 29, 2009

Click image to enlarge.
Historical Video On You Tube: Indians Invade Mount Rushmore-1970
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wd1uLgV7mc
My Space Web Page:
http://www.myspace.com/thewashichustolethepahasa
Black Hills FOX News - News Stories29 Aug 2008Ceremony at Mt. Rushmore remembering Native American protest
http://www.kevn.com/NewsStories.aspx?StoryID=12280
Twitter http://twitter.com/UNAINC

Walking and dying

Shoes of those walking and dying across the Sonoran Desert. Southside Church in Tucson 2008/photo Brenda Norrell (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Behind Door No. 2: Twenty-first Century Indian Removal



Column of the Americas
August 31, 2009

Fear: It’s What’s Behind Door #2
21st Century Indian Removal
By Roberto Rodriguez
Photo: Roberto Rodriquez walking for migrants dying in the Sonoran Desert, Tucson to San Xavier.
Photo Brenda Norrell

Upon arrival recently from Mexico City, after inspecting my passport, a U.S. immigration official at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport instructed me to “Please go to door number 2.”
When the same thing first happened to me at DFW several years ago, I replied: “Did I win a prize?”
This time, it was on the same day that Bollywood Superstar, Shah RukhKhan was detained at Newark’s Liberty International Airport.
Officially, Kahn was “not detained” for 66 minutes. His papers were simply checked and luggage misplaced.
Using that criteria, I have been further screened, but “not detained”more than a dozen times since 9-11 of 2001.
Both times that I was “not detained” at DFW – the wait at the secondary inspection lasted a half hour. The officials were not rude, though I almost missed my flights home.
Might these be incidents of racial profiling?
Admittedly, I am a brown man – who knows first hand the meaning of driving while brown (My encounters with law enforcement as a youngster and a young adult number in the many dozens). People of color have always known this reality. Red-Brown people in particular also haveknown the meaning of this when encountering immigration authorities not just at ports of entry, but also at internal checkpoints. I’ve long dubbed the work of the migra as “Indian Removal” – because that’s precisely who they profile – not people who look “Hispanic,” but rather, people who are red-brown. However, since 9-11 – the entire nation has gone wild[er], thus the fear-inspired: Department of Homeland Security. It is this same fear that prevents president Obama from defanging Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio – the face of racial profiling. That same fear permits programs such as Operation Streamline – a Federal Kangaroo Court in Tucson in which 70-80 Mexican or Central American people are tried, convicted and sentenced in court daily – all in one hour. Either they are instantly deported or sent to a private detention center.
Yet, what is happening at airports nowadays continues to be equally ominous. In my case, someone with my name is on a watch list. After the first time this happened, I was told that the person they are looking for is from South America – and about 20 years younger. After they ascertained that I was not him, they released me.
On at least several other occasions at DFW, without sending me to secondary, U.S. officials have raised the issue of me being on their lists. Once it was a rude encounter, treating me as though I should be thankful that I am permitted to fly U.S. skies.
What’s disconcerting is that despite U.S. officials knowing full wellthat I am not the person they are looking for – I remain on their watch list – or treated as such. This time, the official told me:“You’ve gone through this before, haven’t you?”
“Yes. This happened to me here at DFW several years ago.”
If they know this, not explained is why they continue with their intrusive behavior. Outdated computers? At the same time, what do South American countries have to do with America’s “War on Terror” and how did someone with a name like Rodriguez get on that list? The myth continues to be perpetrated – by the likes of CNN’s Lou Dobbs -- that peoples from the south have something to do with this so-called war.The vast majority of Arabs, South Asians and Muslims don’t have anything to do with this war either, but that seems to matter little for media types and government officials who apparently believe that all these mostly red-brown peoples “fit the profile.”
By the way, if you would like to know what’s behind door number 2, it: people of color.
It is clear that we now have a big brother apparatus unable and unwilling to purge its massive lists of innocent individuals.Truthfully, it’s the whole notion of a Homeland – conjured up by the Bush-Cheney administration, which has permitted these violating intrusions to be viewed as routine. It is this environment, since9-11, where and when I have found myself constantly “not detained” at airports nationwide. One time, I unnecessarily missed a flight. Other times – even before 9-11 – I was detained at the Hollywood-Burbank airport (while picking up a passenger), while another time my car was dismantled at an internal checkpoint in New Mexico.
With President Obama in office, this was supposed to change. Instead,we continue to move towards a Lou Dobbs vision of the world or the Arpaio-ization of the nation – a nation free of red-brown peoples.
Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

Obama continues Bush terrorism

UN OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague
http://www.unobserver.com
US to probe CIA torture
The US attorney-general has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of abuse by the CIA during interrogations.
Eric Holder's appointment of John Durham, a federal prosecutor, comes as a CIA report released on Monday revealed that US interrogators threatened to kill a suspect's children and sexually assault another suspect's mother.
The announcement of the investigation coincided with a White House admission that Barack Obama's government would continue the previous administration's practice of sending terrorism suspects to other countries for detention and interrogation. Read more ...
http://www.unobserver.com/

Support for Big Mountain

Sheep Dog Nation Rocks, Chief Loner: "Not yer typical Injun. Grew up in the wildlands of Big Mountain and raised by an intelligent and loving parents that did not speak English, but they still practiced the ancient traditions of natural-sustainable lifestyles. Today, I am not so concerned about being a Loner, but very proud and honored to carry on the wisdoms taught to me by Mom and Dad, and all the wise ones from the Big Mountain country. Yea'go'h, Ni'zhoni!"

From Carina: Subject: Ways to support the People on Big Mountain
1. Upcoming Annual Food and Supply Run organized by California based rock group Clan Dyken for Thanksgiving week. Check out their website and reports from previous years on their many years of support for the people on Big Mountain. This group have made the journey to the Land in fall and spring for many years, and they have done a wonderful job.
They are currently raising funds for the Thanksgiving Give Back food and supply run, and they also need volunteers. Please go to: http://www.clandyken.com/cd/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=4&Itemid=35
2. Through Kristin Hood and Bob Malone of Voices of the People organisation, we have learned that volunteers who have knowledge on repairing solarpanels are needed on HPL. Maybe someone would even know of companies that could offer to donate solarpanels to families on Big Mountain.Contact Bob Malone at: bobsmalone@msn.com or Kristin Hood at: keh98@nau.edu
3.Ongoing Documentation project by way of film is being carried out by Bahe Katenay. Go to
http://sheepdognationrocks.blogspot.com/
to learn more and to contact Bahe.
There are many needs on Big Mountain and Black Mesa. Many up there are struggling for survival, with everything from, loneliness, getting drinkingwater, food and daily chores, fuel and wood for heating and cooking, medicine and many more things.
Volunteers/supporters are always needed to stay with families up there.Contact Black Mesa Indigenous Support http://blackmesais.org/ for more info.
Send me your ideas and suggestions, please.
with warm greetings from Carina--------------------

Wyoming filmmaker: Documentary on Peltier


http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_64f69576-91f4-11de-bd56-001cc4c002e0.html
Cody filmmaker focuses on activist convicted of murder
RUFFIN PREVOST
Billings Gazette

Wyoming Bureau Posted: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 9:50 pm
Photo: Preston Randolph Park County filmmakers Preston Randolph, left, and Derrick McGuire attend a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month during the parole hearing for Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in 1977 for the murder of two FBI agents. The two men are making a documentary about Peltier’s case.
CODY - Two Park County filmmakers are working on a documentary they hope will draw attention to the case of Leonard Peltier, an Indian activist serving two life sentences. He was denied parole last week."I've always known about the Peltier case, because I grew up hearing about it," said Preston Randolph, 19, of Cody.
"About a year ago, I decided to do something more meaningful in my work and my life. And in talking to Leonard's family, I thought that something more needs to be done," said Randolph, who has spent several months working on the film.
Peltier, 64, was convicted in 1977 for the murder of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
His case has attracted widespread attention from supporters who say he was denied a fair trial and that the government engaged in misconduct in his arrest and prosecution. The FBI and federal prosecutors deny any wrongdoing and point to numerous unsuccessful appeals by Peltier, including to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Peltier has acknowledged that he participated in the shootout but continues to deny that he fired the fatal shots in the execution-style murders of Coler and Williams.
With the denial last week of Peltier's parole request, his next hearing is scheduled for 2024, when he would be 79.
"I'm extremely disappointed, but unfortunately, I'm not terribly surprised," said Derrick McGuire, 19, a sound engineer attending Northwest College who is working with Randolph on the film project. The two men traveled together to Pennsylvania earlier this month to document Peltier's parole hearing."We're going to try to just keep informing people of the whole situation. It isn't going to stall our work at all. We're going to try to get this out as soon as we can," McGuire said.
Randolph said he is passionate about Peltier's case, and while his film will take a fair look at all the facts, his research has convinced him that Peltier should be released."I've been writing to Leonard for six months, and talking to his relatives for probably about a year," he said."I want to show that personal side to this story, to show his family and how it's affected them, him being in prison for 34 years," he said.While in high school, Randolph won awards for his short films in three consecutive Wyoming State Film Festivals, and he has spent time in Los Angeles participating in filmmaking courses and working on video productions.
He plans to travel throughout the winter, filming interviews with sources involved in the Peltier case and hopes to have a finished, full-length documentary by the end of summer 2010.Randolph said his film will serve as a follow-up of sorts to the 1992 documentary, "Incident at Oglala," narrated by Robert Redford.
That film raised awareness about Peltier's case, but additional information and developments since then warrant further scrutiny, he said.
Ed Woods, a former FBI special agent, said some books and documentaries about Peltier's case have "focused on the mythology" but have not shown convincing evidence of his innocence."The jury heard it all and came to their conclusion. And since then, every aspect of the case has been reviewed over and over," said Woods, who had no connection to the 1975 shootout, but started a Web site to present an opposing voice to Peltier's supporters."Was it a perfect case? Probably not. But for those who take the time and do the research and see the evidence, once you get beyond the myth and folklore, there's not a whole lot there," he said.Randolph said he has been surprised by the reaction of many around Park County who are sympathetic to Peltier's cause after hearing about the project."We live in a very conservative, law-and-order area of the country, but I have found a lot of people who surprisingly side with my point of view around here," he said, adding that he is spending his own money on travel and production expenses."I'm not doing this for money or fame. I'm very passionate about the story of Leonard Peltier and what happened then on the reservation, as well as what continues to happen now," he said.Contact Ruffin Prevost at rprevost@billingsgazette.com or 307-527-7250.

August 25, 2009

Indigenous Alliance without Borders Gathering Aug. 29, 2009

ALIANAZA INDIGENA SIN FRONTERAS GATHERING

"REMEMBER! A GATHERING OF RELATIVES, FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS"
- SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2009 -
SANTA ROSA LIBRARY - 1075 S. 10TH AVENUE
Tucson, AZ
10AM TO 5PM
Photo: Jose Matus at gathering of Indigenous Alliance without Borders. Photo Brenda Norrell
"May the Grandfather give you the Alianza Indigena's Board of Directors, volunteers, Student Interns, friend and supporters many blessing in this new Fiscal Year July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 as people of conscience. May you continue to be the dreamers of this life, continue to be the persons who imagine new possibilities, who long for what others cannot perceive, and say in your minds" why not!" May the Grandfather defend all of you from ridicule and harsh criticism, from self-doubt and lack of faith in your dreams, and give you a strong spirit to prevent you from giving up and put forth a determined effort to make improvements, and never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the World."
Agenda
1. Introduction & Welcome
Purpose of Gathering: Update members and attendees on Alianza Indigena Activities
Board Organizational Structure and Responsibilities
Don't Respond, Strategize
Goals: The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras, board of director, relatives, friends and supporters come together in unity to support Indigenous Rights - Rights of mobility and passage to cross U.S./Mexico/Canadian nation state borders. To this end
Alianza Indigena Advocates the following rights of Indigenous Peoples.
"The Alianza Indigena's Position is to promote respect, protection and preservation for all Indigenous People's sovereignty, languages, lands, culture, resources and rights."
To this end the Alianza Indigena advocates the following rights of Indigenous Peoples:
Unimpeded right to cross the borders: For ceremonial and other spiritual practices, with cultural, educational, informational, diplomatic and political exchanges - with bodies of deceased relatives - for gatherings - with sacred items not subject to search and seizure - with arts, crafts and trade goods and lastly to provide assistance to and cooperation with people in need.

Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras opposes the militarization of nation-state borders and especially opposes the occupation of the Indigenous Southern Borderlands and First Nations territories.

2. Alianza Indigena Report
Project Activities
Project Funding Report & Proposals to potential funding sources
Communication Equipment Purchase
Alianza Indigena Brochure
Guadalupe Yaqui Community Group Request to join Alianza Indigena

3. Alianza Indigena Co-sponsor of Yaqui Language Classes at Loreto Matus Cultural Center – with Maria Molina as Instructor

4. Talking Circle - a time and space for sharing collaborative works &
dreaming up new ones.

ALIANZA INDIGENA GATHERING - SATURDAY, August 29, 2009 - TUCSON, AZ
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT - JOSE MATUS -520-979-2125
JOIN US! May Your Faith Move Any Mountains That Stand In Your Way And May Your Heart Be Awake And Open.

Indigenous Uranium Forum, Acoma Pueblo 2009

Anna Rondon, 7th Indigenous Uranium Forum Organizer, 505-726-9392
Nikke Alex, Registrar, 505-879-7461
Jihan Gearon, Indigenous Environmental Network, 218-760-1370
Indigenous Peoples Fight the Latest Uranium Boom in Indian Country
By Indigenous Uranium Forum
Albuquerque, NM – Indigenous Peoples from all over North America will converge at Acoma Pueblo this fall to actualize an inter-tribal campaign to end the latest uranium boom threatening communities throughout Indian Country. The 7th Indigenous Uranium Forum will take place October 22 – 24 2009 in Acoma Pueblo at Sky City Hotel, New Mexico.
The Forum started in 1987 with a series of conferences on the environmental and health impacts of uranium development in the grants mineral belt in New Mexico. Over the past 22 years, the Forum has grown into an important vehicle for strategy development and coordination of communities affected along the entire lifeline of nuclear power – from uranium mining in the grants mineral belt, to nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.
“For the first time in sixty years, indigenous peoples in North America has the greatest opportunity to stop further uranium/nuclear development and to promote renewable energy”, stated Anna Rondon. The political climate is perfect for us to organize ourselves nationally. “We hope to leave the forum with clear actions as we continue the resistance of corporate/government invasion of nuclear developmental terrorism on our homelands.” The forum is spiritually based and will have private ceremonies.
Due to the United States’ recent energy policies, which emphasize nuclear power as a solution to climate change, uranium mining is going through a boom. Historically the negative health, economic, and social impacts of nuclear power has fallen on the back of Indigenous Peoples.
Although the forum will focus much needed attention on the uranium developments being proposed at Mount Taylor and throughout the grants mineral belt of New Mexico, it will also provide education on a variety of topics, from the health affects of uranium mining, to the implications of U.S. energy policy, to the opportunities provided by the emerging green economy. Most importantly, it will provide an opportunity for communities to network, organize, and strategize.
Find more information about the 7th Indigenous Uranium Forum by visiting the website at http://www.siuf.net/index.html.
###
Anna Rondon
P.O. Box 5058
Gallup NM 87305
505-726-9392

August 24, 2009

Ben Carnes: Next First Step for Peltier

Next First Step. . Message from Ben Carnes LPDOC - Leonard Peltier
By Ben Carnes

LP-DOC Natl. Spokesperson
I wish to offer my personal thanks to everyone for your continuous work and dedication. I was at my computer Friday morning when my google alert brought me the first news of the denial, and then I received an email from Wanbli containing the same news. It was like the dam busted, I received several hundred within the first hour and a half from many of you expressing your sense of outrage at the injustice done to Leonard.
One of my friends wrote something to the effect that a new movement was born today. I really want to see this and so does Leonard, I know we can all agree the White House needs to feel it.
So what is it going to take? It is going to take everything we got - 101%! And trust me - this kind of commitment demands sacrifices and you will be challenged for your stand on this principle. When Leonard was convicted, the late Lew Gurwitz stated, "This is a case that is not going to go away!" Lew lived his words traveling and sleeping in his car to create the awareness of this case. When he passed on, his brother Shep took up the cause. There are many of us who have been here supporting Leonard for years.
Last year, we made a commitment to do what we can to bring Leonard home before his birthday next month. We have less than three weeks to really put our hearts into this, and some of us have personal responsibilities and burdens to overcome and it comes down to making some hard decisions. It isn't going to be easy. So as a National Branch Support Group Coordinator, I want to ask everyone if they would consider again forming a branch support group in your area. We have a lot of organizing and networking to do with the clock ticking.
We have to overcome the media turning a blind eye to Leonard’s plight. They are more than happy to spread detrimental news of his parole, as you have noticed recently. Let’s turn this into something positive for us, each of you can write letters to the editor in your local respective paper. Sit down and write a letter expressing your disgust and outrage.
As most everyone has heard, the White House phone lines were shut down today immediately after the news came out. The fact they shut down the lines is proof of how they were overwhelmed. You know that was brought to the presidents’ attention. I hope he leaned back in his chair and looked out the window of the Oval Office, and really thought that day about Leonard Peltier. And how much he obviously means to the people to shut down his hi-tech phone system.
And relatives, we only flinch! We’ve known the system has not treated Peltier fairly in the 33 years of his imprisonment. Imagined what would happened if we shouted? So yes, we need a revitalized and disciplined movement, not only for Peltier or other native prisoners, but also for all of us.
Once, we were a movement of people who traveled around the country to help put out fires of racism, greed and abuse. We have learned a lot from those days of protesting, civil disobedience or conducting roadblocks and occupations of government offices some valuable lessons. We also know that we are now in the day of hi-tech surveillance capabilities and out of control police powers. We don’t need more people going to jail. The government is doing a good job as it is, so be mindful of what you do and say, but always speak from the heart and act with your conscience. Don’t allow oppression to silence your voice of dissent – not now.
When there is a call to action, we can be more effective in organizing in our own communities, you know what resources are available to you there and it is going to take solidarity actions across this country, including developing media contacts, mainstream/alternative, in your locale. That is a good place to start because we will grow in numbers quickly, whereas, if we attempted to travel across country at great expense, then we may cut our participating numbers down dramatically.
Those of us who have been doing the work had to start alone or we might have had help, but we all started somewhere. We had to, just as we have to keep building this up. So for now, go to http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/ and fill out the application to form a Leonard Peltier Branch Support Group (city or state), and then Monday morning, your first action is to ring the phone off the hooks at the White House, and start recruiting your friends and other organizations to follow this course of action. Do this as often as possible throughout the day, everyday.
We’ve been saying that we wanted to start a prairie fire of outrage to the Oval Office of the White House for Peltier, and now we have cause. Leonard Peltier should not have to spend one more birthday in prison for something the government admits they cannot prove.
Offer your prayers to the Creator to give you guidance, then join this international movement for our brother and lets bring him home.
Email completed application:
bencarnes@eaglecouncil.com & wanbli@gvtc.com.
We've got some work to do now.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse and Leonard Peltier,Ben Carnes

August 23, 2009

Amnesty International calls for Peltier's immediate release

www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/usa-denial-parole-leonard-peltier-after-more-32-years-prison-disappointi

USA: Denial of parole to Leonard Peltier after more than 32 years in prison, disappointing
21 August 2009
Amnesty International today regretted the US Parole Commission’s decision not to grant Leonard Peltier parole despite concerns about the fairness of his 1977 conviction for murder. The organization called for the immediate release on parole of the activist, who is serving two consecutive life sentences and has spent more than 32 years in prison.
A prominent member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Leonard Peltier was convicted of the murders of two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, during a confrontation involving AIM members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on 26 June 1975. While Leonard Peltier admits having been present during the incident, he has always denied shooting the agents at point blank range as alleged by the prosecution at his trial.
Amnesty International recognizes the seriousness of the crime for which Leonard Peltier was convicted. However, having studied the case extensively over many years, the organization remains concerned about the fairness of the process leading to his conviction, including questions about evidence linking him to the point-blank shootings and coercion of an alleged eye-witness.
One of Amnesty International’s concerns is that Leonard Peltier’s extradition from Canada in 1976 -- where he had fled following the shootings -- was secured on the basis of the coerced testimony of an alleged eye-witness which the FBI knew to be false.
The witness, Myrtle Poor Bear, later retracted her testimony that she had seen Leonard Peltier shoot the agents but the trial judge did not allow her to be called as a defence witness at his trial.
Other concerns include the withholding by the prosecution of evidence, including potentially key ballistics evidence that might have assisted Leonard Peltier’s defence.
"The interest of justice would be best served by granting Leonard Peltier parole,” said Angela Wright, US Researcher at Amnesty International. “Given the concerns around his conviction, the fact that appeals before the courts have long been exhausted and that he has spent more than 32 years in prison, we urge the Parole Commission to reconsider its decision.”
The parole hearing, which took place over four hours on 28 July, was the first full parole hearing to be held in the case since 1993. In addition to the concerns about the fairness of his conviction, parole was sought by Peltier and his lawyer based on his good conduct record in prison and arrangements made by the Turtle Mountain tribe to receive him into their community on his release. Background InformationLeonard Peltier is an Anishinabe-Lakota Native American who was a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), an activist group involved in promoting the rights of “traditionalist” Indians during a period of intense conflict in the 1970s.
In the two years prior to the confrontation in which the agents were killed, more than 60 Indians on the Pine Ridge reservation had been killed, allegedly by paramilitary squads connected to the tribal government, without anyone being brought to justice for the crimes.
AIM members who had come to the reservation to assist “traditionalists” opposing the tribal government were also allegedly threatened. Relations between AIM and the FBI were also tense, with accusations that the authorities had not done enough to protect those at risk on the reservation.
The confrontation in which the two FBI agents were killed took place after the agents entered the reservation with an arrest warrant for four people and started following a van. A fire-fight ensued. Evidence was presented at trial to show that the agents received multiple shots and were quickly disabled before being shot dead at point-blank range.
Two other AIM leaders, Darelle Butler and Robert Robideau, were initially charged with the agents’ murders and were tried separately: no evidence was presented to link them to the point-blank shootings.
The jury acquitted them after hearing evidence about the atmosphere of violence and intimidation on the reservation and concluded that, arguably, they might have been acting in self-defense when they were involved in the exchange of gunfire. Following their acquittal, the FBI renewed its efforts to pursue Leonard Peltier, who had fled to Canada.
At his trial, the prosecution alleged that the rifle which killed the agents belonged to Peltier. During post-trial investigations, the defence team discovered a teletex message suggesting that the rifle in question contained a different firing pin from the one used to kill the agents; this was raised on appeal and an evidentiary hearing held at which the significance of the teletex was contested by the government.
On appeal, the government also argued that sufficient evidence had been presented to the jury at trial to show that Leonard Peltier had “aided and abetted” the killings even if he had not been the actual killer.
However, Amnesty International believes that the outcome may well have been different had Peltier been able to challenge the ballistics evidence linking him to the fatal shots more effectively.
____Amnesty International, International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DWU.K.

August 22, 2009

Peltier's attorney: Response to parole decision


By Peltier attorney Eric Seitz ~
The Bush Administration holdovers on the U.S. Parole Commission today adopted the position of the FBI that anyone who may be implicated in the killings of its agents should never be paroled and should be left to die in prison. Despite judicial determinations that the unrepentant FBI fabricated evidence and presented perjured testimony in Leonard Peltier's prosecution; despite a jury's acquittal on grounds of self-defense of two co-defendants who were found to have engaged in the same conduct of which Mr. Peltier was convicted; despite Mr. Peltier's exemplary record during his incarceration for more than 33 years and his clearly demonstrated eligibility for parole; despite letters and petitions calling for his release submitted by millions of people in this country and around the world including one of the judges who ruled on his earlier appeals; and despite his advanced age and deteriorating health, the Parole Commission today informed Mr. Peltier that his "r elease on parole would depreciate the seriousness of your offenses and would promote disrespect for the law," and set a reconsideration.. hearing in July 2024.
This is the extreme action of the same law enforcement community that brought us the indefinite imprisonment of suspected teenage terrorists, tortures, and killings in CIA prisons around the world and promoted widespread disrespect for the democratic concepts of justice upon which this country supposedly was founded.
These are the same institutions that have never treated indiginous peoples with dignity or respect or accepted any responsibility for centuries of intolerence and abuse. At his parole hearing on July 28th Leonard Peltier expressed regret and accepted responsibility for his role in the incident in which the two FBI agents and one Native American activist died as the result of a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Mr. Peltier emphasized that the shootout occurred in circumstances where there literally was a war going on between corrupt tribal leaders, supported by the government, on the one hand, and Native American traditionalists.. and young activists on the other. He again denied -- as he as always denied -- that he intended the deaths of anyone or that he fired the fatal shots that killed the two agents, and he reminded the hearing officer that one of his former co-defendants recently admitted to having fired the fatal shots, himself. Accordingly, it is not true that Leonard Peltier participated in "the execution style murders of two FBI agents," as the Parole Commission asserts, and there never has been credible evidence of Mr. Peltier's responsibility for the fatal shots as the FBI continues to allege. Moreover, given the corrupt practices of the FBI, itself, it is entirely untrue that Leonard Peltier's parole at this juncture will in any way "depreciate the seriousness" of his conduct and/or "promote disrespect for the law."
We will continue to seek parole and clemency for Mr. Peltier and to eventually bring this prolonged injustice to a prompt and fair resolution.

August 21, 2009

AP: Peltier denied parole

American Indian activist denied parole
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier has once again been denied parole.
Wrigley says the next scheduled hearing for Peltier is 2024, when Peltier would be 79 years old.
Peltier is serving two life sentences for the execution-style deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams during a June 26, 1975, standoff on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
He was convicted in Fargo, N.D., in 1977. He has claimed the FBI framed him, which the agency denies, and unsuccessfully appealed his conviction numerous times.
Peltier had a full parole hearing for the first time in 15 years last month at the Lewisburg, Pa., federal prison where he is being held.
Defense attorney Eric Seitz declined comment on the U.S. Parole Commission decision Friday, saying the Justice Department had not informed him.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.

August 20, 2009

Obama enhances Bush anti-immigrant policies

President Obama is no Dobbs or Arpaio…
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
On the issue of immigration, President Obama is no Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio – the face of racial profiling. Neither is he CNN’s, Lou Dobbs, whose mission in life seems to be to lead the nation into an ethnic cleansing frenzy. Yet up to this point, President Obama’s immigration policies simply appear to be enhanced versions of President Bush’s anti-immigrant policies. Read more ...
NEW AMERICA MEDIA COLUMNS
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/
ARCHIVED COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
http://web.mac.com/columnoftheamericas/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
XColumn@gmail.com TUCSON: 520-743-0376

Navajo Women Resistance


Censored News Radio: Navajo Women Resistance
Listen at: Censored Blog Talk Radio
Photo: Enei Begaye, Navajo/Tohono O'odham; Anna Rondon, Navajo; Louise Benally of Big Mountain. Photo Brenda Norrell
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell/
NEW: Navajo Women Resisting Uranium Mining
Louise Benally, Navajo from Big Mountain speaks on protecting Mother Earth, Anna Rondon, Navajo, speaks out on the longtime uranium fight, Enei Begaye, Navajo/Tohono O'odham celebrates the Green Jobs victory on the Navajo Nation and Vanessa Kelly Brown calls for freedom for Leonard Peltier, in solidarity at Havasupai Gathering against uranium mining.
Previous show: Pueblo and Navajo uranium victims at Havasupai Summit at the Grand Canyon: Manny Pino, Acoma Pueblo; Carletta Garcia, daughter of Dorothy Purley, ore truck driver, Laguna Pueblo; Larry King, Navajo from Church Rock, NM; Phil Harrison, Navajo from Cove in the Four Corners area. Music recorded live: Birdsongs, Navajo and Supai traditional songs and Summit Dub Squad.
Also: Dennis Banks and Supai elders at the gathering in previous shows.
Recordings by Earthcycles http://www.earthcycles.net/

CIA hired Blackwater for assassinations

Blackwater, the CIA and the assassinations
Today's news reveals the CIA hired Blackwater for assassinations. No real news there, but the question remains: Did the US hire Blackwater to assassinate blacks, or to look the other way, during the assassinations on the streets of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina?

On the Danish documentary, 'Welcome to New Orleans,' white men on video tape said in 2005 that shooting blacks after Katrina was like hunting:
"MAN 1: You had to do what you had to do. You know? If you had to shoot somebody, you had to shoot somebody. That simple.
MAN 2: We had looters.
MAN 3: It was great!
MAN 4: It was great!
MAN 3: It was like pheasant season in South Dakota!" Censored News

Blackwater hired for assassinations
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090820/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_cia_secret_program;_ylt=ArcnfFJ.mJeJCFYjN0Gs8Nqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTMzMW5kazNwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODIwL3VzX2NpYV9zZWNyZXRfcHJvZ3JhbQRjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzUEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2Fwc291cmNlY2lhaA--AP source: CIA hired others to try to hit al-Qaida
By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer Pamela Hess,
Associated Press Writer – 45 mins ago


WASHINGTON – The CIA hired private contractors at Blackwater USA in 2004 as part of a secret program to kill top-level members of al-Qaida, a person familiar with the program said Wednesday. The contracts, which were unsuccessful, were canceled several years ago, the person told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the program remains classified. The New York Times first reported the program late Wednesday on its Web site. The Times, citing unidentified current and former government officials, said Blackwater executives helped with planning, training and surveillance for the program. The program never resulted in the capture or killing of any terrorists suspects, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials. It was never fully operational, and was canceled by then-CIA Director George Tenet. It was restarted by his successor, Porter Goss, and canceled again this June by CIA Director Leon Panetta. Panetta then informed the congressional intelligence committees about the program for the first time the next day. The officials told the Times that the CIA's use of an outside company for a potentially lethal program was a major reason Panetta called the emergency congressional briefing. The House Intelligence Committee last month launched an investigation to determine whether the CIA broke the law by not informing Congress about the secret program as soon as it was begun. Blackwater, a North Carolina company now known as Xe Services, has come under heavy criticism for its alleged role in a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. It was unclear whether the CIA had planned to use the contractors to capture or kill al-Qaida operatives or just to help with training and surveillance. Government officials said bringing outsiders into a program with lethal authority raised deep concerns about accountability in covert operations, the Times reported. The CIA has regularly used contractors for intelligence analysis and operations, former CIA Director Michael Hayden told Congress last year. Contractors participated in the secret harsh interrogations of terrorist suspects, he said. Contractors are no longer allowed to conduct interrogations, Panetta told Congress in April. The Times reported that the CIA did not have a formal contract with Blackwater for this program but instead had individual agreements with top company officials, including founder Erik D. Prince. "Director Panetta thought this effort should be briefed to Congress, and he did so. He also knew it hadn't been successful, so he ended it. Neither decision was difficult. This was clear and straightforward," CIA spokesman George Little told the AP. "Director Panetta did not tell the (congressional) committees that the agency had misled the Congress or had broken the law. He decided that the time had come to brief Congress on a counterterrorism effort that was, in fact, much more than a PowerPoint presentation." (This version CORRECTS DELETES last graf to correct as Tyrrell no longer works for company.)

August 19, 2009

Stephanie has flown home

Memorial for Stephanie M. Schwartz
January 17, 1947 - August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009 : 1:00 p.m.
Boulder Lodge, Boulder Colorado
Ceremony led by Lakota elder David Swallow, Jr.
Monday, August 24, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
Graveside Ceremony
Riverside Cemetery, Denver, CO
In memory of Stephanie Schwartz
It is always sad to receive the news that a Good Heart has flown on to the Spirit World, especially so with the passing of Stephanie Schwartz. She was a writer and a founder of an organization to help Lakotas on Pine Ridge and promote the traditional way of life. As sad as it is, she will certainly be happy in the Spirit World, where she will reap the bounties of her good life. She will be missed here at Censored News, where she contributed articles and shared news. Stephanie will also be missed in the global effort of those struggling for good, for Indigenous rights. She will be missed by the people she helped the most and all those who persevere in the ways of the Spirit. -- Brenda

In memory of Stephanie M. Schwartz
Written by Els Herten
We just received the sad message that our dear friend and colleague Stephanie
M. Schwartz has passed away.
Stephanie was a writer, poet, journalist (member of the Native American Journalists Association and contributing writer to the Native American Times), editor and the president of the Link Center Foundation.Stephanie worked as a counselor, lecturer, and mediator between cultural traditions for 13 years. She was a volunteer to the World Peace and PrayerDay non-profit organization and Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota,Nakota, and Dakota from 1999 to 2003.She was also an author and Web master for Web sites relating to indigenous traditional cultures, information, and charitable activities, such as Wambli Ho / Voice of the Eagle; Miracle's Website; He Ska Tokala Sobriety Society,for Thurman Horse, Lakota Artist, the Kanasita Foundation, and for Chief Arvol Looking Horse.
She was a member of the Board of Advisors for Native Village Publications --an award-winning Internet Native American educational and news non-profit resource; a volunteer for Dreamkeepers, an organization promoting the recording and publishing of indigenous wisdoms from around the world; founded by writer/journalist Harvey Arden.Stephanie Schwartz was a contributing author to national and international news organizations such as Country Road Chronicles, Native American Times, Lakota-Dakota Journal, Well Nations Magazine, Namaste Magazine, Sacred Hoop Magazine, and more.
She also volunteered for winter holiday toy drives for the Porcupine District of the Pine Ridge Reservation since 2002. These toy drives were originally initiated by Wambli Ho News and the He Ska Tokala Sobriety Society and are currently continued by the Kanasita Foundation. And a volunteer for heat and utility assistance program for the Elders of the Lakota Reservations of South Dakota sponsored by the Link Center Foundation since 2005.
Stephanie was a volunteer editor for indigenous writers and elders.
And Steph was one of the VIPs who signed the International Peltier Forum letter to raise awareness to Leonard Peltier's case. Her contributions to the Lakota people have been plentiful and compassionate. Stephanie kept us all aware of what was going on in Lakota country. Her articles were eye-openers to many, and a constant reminder toall of us of the struggles Lakota people still face today.Stephanie M. Schwartz was a true gem. It was a real honour knowing her and working with her. She will be missed and remembered.
Els Herten
coordinator KOLA / IPF
And Who Will Cry
Dedicated to my adoptive brother, Tiblo Kangi Sapa, my friend, Wanbli Cikala, and others your world has lost....
Warriors don't cry
So they say
Be strong
Mourn not, grieve not
Yet who will cry
Who will shed the water
To feed the spirit
And heal the people
Keen and wail
Tatter the clothes
Cut the hair
Sing the pain to the stars
Sound of power
Carrying aloft the soul
While tears soft and loud
Nourish those left behind
Warriors don't cry
A fallacy
Earth mothers know the strength
Female Warriors cry
by Stephanie M. Schwartz© March 3, 2004Brighton, Coloradofor more poetry by Steph, please visithttp://fiveminutes. homestead. com/AndWhoWillCr y.
HTML American Indian Homeland Security "Fighting Terrorism Since 1492"Support UNA, do your part on issueswww.UnitedNativeAmerica.com
Stephanie M. Schwartz
January 17, 1947 - August 17, 2009
Today an Eagle feather fell to Earth.
In loving memory, Maka Nupa L.Cota
Today our sister Stephanie, dropped her robe and made her final journey into the West. Through the light of the summer day her spirit walked alone, and unafraid into a clear blue sky. Free at last of the pain and suffering of this world, she walked straight and tall. This kind quiet gentle woman who was known to many, and loved by all made her final decision to end her suffering. Stephanie was a warrior, and a protector, her strength was felt by those who were unable to help themselves. She was a person who understood the meaning of forgiveness and love, she also knew the pain suffering of this world. Creator has a bigger plan for us than we will ever know. We must have courage and faith. Stephanie's time here was well used for the people.We human mortal beings may never know the answers to this woman’s pain; but we can honor her life and her courage. The way she lived her life left a lasting impression for those who will come after her seeking answers to the suffering of in this world. The kindness in her eyes and the sorrow that she also had suffered was reflected in the way she cared for others.
Always the helping hand and smiling person with the wonderful laugh she blessed many with her kindness. I know that Creator will welcome her into the lodge of her people and that she will find eternal rest and peace at last. May her spirit be welcomed by her sister and brother warriors, who gave their lives, and danced for the people. The many elders she offered her home and kindness to through out the years I am sure will be waiting for her.
Stephanie my dear sweet sister, my heart will forever walk with you, and my love goes with you. Until we meet again I will hold you in my heart. The prayers of our people all over the Earth are with you, may your journey take you home to the land of your people.In loving memory: Maka Nupa L.Cota