Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

September 29, 2012

Long Walker Danny Wyatt passes to Spirit World

Photo by Sophie Adison/Long Walk 2 northern route
 
Photo by Marek/Long Walk Haskell, Kansas


Long walkers mourn the passing of their good hearted friend Danny Wyatt, Washoe from Gardnerville, Nevada. Danny was battling leukemia. During the Long Walk 2 northern route, Danny made friends fast with his good heartedness and laughter. Danny celebrated his 27th birthday in August. Shown here with Long Walkers Edmund and Daniel, Miwok, on the left, Danny was a friend to everyone, who also made the walkers happy by making fry bread for them.
Sincere condolescenses to his family and friends.
Long Walker Marek in Poland took the photo of Danny in Haskell, Kansas, the second photo.
Marek writes, "It’s very sad to hear that we miss another walker from the Longest Walk 2. I have met Danny only briefly a few times when the Northern and Southern Routes got together in 2008 but I remember him as a kind, open, and good hearted person, and a strong walker. There’s no justice in losing such good and young people so fast."
Peace and prayers to you and all around,
Marek Nowocien, Longest Walker All the Way, Poland
Top photo Danny Wyatt (seated lower right) by Sophie Adison. Sophie is our Navajo friend from Utah, whose 17-year-old daughter Kenzie was also a Long Walker on the 2 northern route. Thanks to all of you! Brenda, Censored News.
Second and third photos by Marek Nowocien (Danny in grey sweatshirt, second from left) in Haskell, Kansas.
Danny back center, at Kansas City Capitol.
Photo by Marek
 

September 28, 2012

Day 5 Texas tarsands blockade: Tree sitters remain as bulldozers destroy heartland

Day 5:

This is the true face of Keystone XL. This pictures says it all. This horrific scar is at the doorstep of our tree blockade and is slated to cut 110-feet wide for 1,700 miles through America’s heartland. Millions of homes and trees are being plowed to make way for this toxic pipeline. Right now heavy machinery is a mere 60 feet from our nine brave blockaders in the trees. Follow it here: http://tarsandsblockade.org/tree-sit-day5/

First Nation Terrance Nelson alleges vote buying, delegation heads to Iran

Terrance Nelson, former Roseau River chief in Manitoba, made allegations today of vote buying in an e-mail to the Prime Minister.

Further, Nelson said a First Nation delegation leaves for Iran on Oct. 8 and will ask for the lives of three Canadians on death row. In his previous statement, Nelson said the delegation will also show photos of the massacre of Wounded Knee.

Nelson’s morning e-mail has brought a dramatic reaction already.
Among the allegations, Nelson questioned if there was a payment of $25,000 for a chief to distance himself from Nelson.


Updates from APTN on Oct. 1, 2012
Allegations bring threats to Terrance Nelson and others
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/10/01/aboriginal-affairs-official-threatens-legal-action-over-allegations-of-afn-election-meddling/

http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/10/01/forwarded-email-alleging-vote-swaying-triggered-legal-warning-from-senior-federal-officials-husband-says-winnipeg-man/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following are morning and evening e-mails sent from Nelson to the press today, Sept. 28, 2012.

By Terrance Nelson
Posted at Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Dear Prime Minister
An accusation has been made against the Harper Government of vote
buying. Chief Nelson Houle of the Ebb and Flow First Nation in
Manitoba delivered a public speech at the Treaty 1-11 Gathering in
Brandon Manitoba in front a large audience in which he said that he
was asked to attend a breakfast meeting at the Fairmount hotel on the
morning of the Assembly of First Nations election. He stated in his
speech that he met with two Ministers and two Aboriginal Affairs
people. They were very concerned with the possibility of my being
elected National Chief. Chief Houle's speech is on record. He stated,
"I should have took the deal".

Chief Morris Shannacappo of Rolling River First Nation who was Grand
Chief of Southern Chiefs Organization at the time of the AFN election
in Toronto has accused Regional Director General Anna Fontaine of the
Manitoba Regional Aboriginal Affairs of paying $25,000 to have him
"distance" himself from me. He has made the accusation that he was
told "Chief, the door will be open for you and your community".

These are very serious charges to be made in public by the Chiefs in
question. Your government has always stated that accountablity and
transparentcy are your goals. Was there a $250,000 contract paid by
the Assembly of First Nations to the person who nominated Shawn Atleo
for National Chief. This was a question put forward by Chief Wallace
Fox of Onion Lake Saskatchewan. The Regional Chiefs from the Assembly
of First Nations who I have asked to verify or deny the existence of
that contract are telling me that they are not being given the
information on various contracts by the AFN.

Pam Palmater another candidate delivered a speech this week to Chiefs
making an accusation that $20 million was committed by the Minister of
Aboriginal Affairs to various First Nations to influence the AFN
election. These are public statements being made at various gatherings
of Chiefs.

For an RDG of the department of Aboriginal Affairs in Manitoba who is
in charge of almost a billion dollars of federal funding to meet with
Chiefs and try to infleunce the vote at the Assembly of First Nations
is a very serious charge. Did Anna Fontaine make such statements and
did she try to buy votes with Canadian federal funding? More
importantly, was this a directive given by your government to
Aboriginal Affairs?

You and I differ greatly on the Iran/Israel issue. I support the right
of Israel to exist but I don't support another war, this one against
Iran. As I stated to the Chiefs in my speech at the July 2012 AFN
election, I will travel to Iran whether I am elected National Chief or
not. As a person who organized a First Nation trip to Iraq in 1998, I
saw first hand the suffering of the Iraqi people. My You Tube video, A
war on children, depicts what we saw in Iraq. I have condemned United
Nations economic sanctions as genocide and I will continue to condemn
economic sanctions as an evil. The fact that the United Nations found
in a 1995 study that 567,000 Iraqi children had died in the first five
years of economic sanctions is proof of evil. When half a million
Iraqi children die, how can we condone economic sanctions as a milder
form of war.

Your government cutting funding to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs,
our Manitoba voice for First Nations will affect the way they work
with your government. To cut 81% of their funding is an attempt to
silence the Chiefs of Manitoba. I hope that I am not so egotiscal as
to believe that your only reason is that AMC supported my bid for
National Chief but we do need to get to the bottom of why these cuts
are being made.

A small First Nation delegation will leave to Geneva on October 8th
and we will fly to Tehran on October 11 from Geneva. As we cannot get
our visas in Ottawa anymore, we will get them in Geneva. I intend to
ask for the lives of the three Canadians on death row in Iran. I have
no illusions. I will ask, that is all I can do. A lot of the Chiefs
seem scared of the trip to Iran but regardless if we are to break the
60 to 95% unemployment on First Nations in Canada, we must go beyond
Ottawa. Whether OPEC nations are prepared to work with First Nations
in Canada remains to be seen.

It appears your government is closing doors on dialogue. I will not
support a war on Iran. There are some of us in North America that do
not see the need for another war. I attach a link that puts a
different view forward. I don't always agree with everything that is
being said but free speech is a right and it is a responsibility.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/talking-peace-and-justice-ahmadinejad

As I stated in my speech at the AFN election, Steven Harper is not the
problem, we are the problem. By that statement, I meant that we cannot
wait for someone to rescue us, we must do whatever we need to do to
rescue ourselves. If Canada is unwilling to break the economic
sanctions imposed upon First Nations in Canada then we will do it
ourselves. As your Aboriginal Affairs people stated to Chief Nelson
Houle, if Terry Nelson gets elected National Chief, industry will have
to open up their wallet. The question that Chief Houle asked after
that statement was made by an official in your government was, Why
does Terry Nelson have to elected National Chief, why can't it happen
anyway.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Deputy Minister Hallman

I recieved an email from RDG Anna Fontaine and will respond to both
your email and the RDG's at the same time.

I did not have third party hearsay evidence on this matter. The speech
made by Chief Nelson Houle of Ebb and Flow First Nation was recorded
at the Treaty 1-11 Gathering. He made the statement that he met with
Ministers and Aboriginal Affairs officials. This is a matter of
record. There was also hundreds of witnesses who can verify the text
of his speech. If this does get to court or to a parliamentary
inquiry, Chief Morris Shannacappo will be testifying under oath as to
what he stated to me and a number of other people.

This afternoon, Dean Fontaine, the husband of Anna Fontaine has
admitted to a reporter that he phoned Gerald McIvor on why McIvor had
sent out copies of my earlier email to press etc. I also recieved a
very nasty message this evening from RDG Fontaine's in law. I have it
on tape.

I have no animosity towards Anna Fontaine. This is not personal. The
issue is, did the RDG meet with Chiefs at the AFN election in Toronto.
Did Ministers or Deputy Ministers meet with Chiefs at the Toronto AFN
election for National Chief and did representatives and employees of
Aboriginal Affairs mention their preference of who the Chiefs should
vote for. Aboriginal Affairs administers over $10 billion each year
for First Nations. Such influence over the Chiefs is real if
Aboriginal Affairs people met with Chiefs to discuss who the Chiefs
should vote for.

A few years ago former RDG for Mantioba, Mary Blais was marched out of
her office alongside two other Indian Affairs senior personel. She
recieved a substantial settlement and apparently is under a gag order
as part of her settlement. Why is there so much secrecy? Can Mary
Blais and other Aboriginal Affairs staff testify in a parliamentary
inquiry on this issue. The workings of the Regional Department of
Aboriginal Affairs in Manitoba must be accountable and transparent. At
least, the Conservative Government has always stated that Chiefs and
Councils must be accountable and transparent, why not the government?
Accusations are made every day against Chiefs and Council members, do
the courts ever hear a defamation lawsuit, why is it defamation if I
ask questions, did Aboriginal Affairs staff or Ministers, Deputy
Ministers meet with Chiefs to discuss the AFN election. Did they
influence how Chiefs should vote?

Did Shawn Atleo or members of the AFN authorize a $250,000 contract to
Ovide Mercredi as Chief Wallace Fox has questioned. Why can't this
question be answered? Did Ovide Mercredi meet with Chiefs in northern
Manitoba to lobby for Shawa Atleo? Was he paid to do this? These are
simply questions. Anna Fontaine states clearly, "I have never ever
promised anything for votes for anyone". Okay RDG Fontaine denies any
wrongdoing. Now, does she deny meeting with Chiefs in Toronto and did
she at any time discuss the AFN election with Chiefs? What Ministers
and Deputy Ministers met with Chiefs in Toronto and did they discuss
with Chiefs, the AFN election?

It seems to me that if you have $10 billion every year that the Chiefs
and their communities need that it would not be hard to influence
their vote, they would be listening to you if you mention who you like
working with. It is not about Anna Fontaine and whether or not she is
a good person, it is about the appearance and perhaps the reality of
vote buying. Do you Ron Hallman as Senior Deputy Minister state for
the record that none of your Aboriginal Affairs staff met with Chiefs
in Toronto? Are you saying that no Minister or Deputy Minister met
with Chiefs in Toronto?

If you want to go to court on this, that's fine. I have not made an
accusation against anyone, I am repeating what was stated by Chiefs
and I am asking questions. If that is illegal, let us go to court and
we can have AANDC staff and Ministers and Deputy Ministers testifying
under oath. I have nothing to hide, do you?

Terrance Nelson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anna Fontaine has denied the allegations.



 

Save Lehman Brightman's home from foreclosure

 
 
 
Message from Quanah Parker Brightman
Posted at Censored News
 
 Go Fund Me for Lehman Brightman:
http://www.gofundme.com/ForMrBrightman

Dear Relatives,


This letter is written on behalf of Lehman Brightman, a Sioux/Creek Indian who in the Lakota term is an icke wicasa, or common man, and lives by the principles of that term, in that he does not put himself above others, works as a warrior for his people, and lives his life in a good way, with respect and caring for the people. In this life there are times to be active, times to b
e rest and be healed, times to stand strong, times to be cared for. Lee needs us now, and I am reaching out to ask you to support this man in his waning years. Please let me tell you about who this man is and what he needs from the community.

There are roles and cycles in life that we are all bound by. The cycles come to us in the duration of our lives, while the roles we have in life are chosen. In that regards Lee is an exceptional ikce wicasa, for he never takes the easy choices in life and never gives up! Born on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, he grew up in Oklahoma where his mother’s people came from and where his father worked for the BIA. He grew up in Indian Country and saw the poverty and the unjust treatment of his fellow Indian people, something that would inform his entire life. Lee is a highly intelligent and physically imposing figure. These characteristics and his sense of social justice have informed his life choices and actions.

His accomplishments are long, and show how he has chosen to life his life in a good and caring way. Some of the choices and accomplishments he has made in life:

· He was a football and track star at Oklahoma State University.

· He was a Marine wounded in action in Korea and awarded a Purple Heart for bravery.

· He earned a B.A. degree from OSU and an M.A. degree from UC Berkeley.

· He and his former wife Trudy Felix Brightman (Sicangu Lakota, now deceased) raised a family of three sons; Lehman Jr., Lakota Gall and Quanah Parker in Pinole, CA.

· He founded and was National President of United Native Americans Inc., a non-profit organization promoting the progress and general welfare of American Indians. (1968)

· As Professor Brightman, he established and coordinated the first-ever Native American Studies Program in the United States at UC Berkeley (1969).

· He has taught at UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Sacramento State University and Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA (1969-2006).

· He led the take-over and occupation of Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota (1970).

· He was the director of the San Francisco American Indian Center.

· He sheltered Dennis Banks in his family home when he was a fugitive from South Dakota after the conflict at Wounded Knee.

· He led investigations of seven Indian boarding schools and three Indian hospitals, due to the poor service and abusive treatment of Indian people.

· He testified in two U.S. Senate hearings on Indian boarding schools and reservations hospitals.

· He spoke out publicly about the sterilization of native women in Indian hospitals.

· He authored numerous articles on the history of Indian Education and federal boarding schools.

· He is the former editor of THE FIRST National Indian newspaper called Warpath.

· He was involved in the occupation of Alcatraz and the take-over of Wounded Knee.

· He was one of the National Coordinators of the Longest Walk (1978)

· He was one of the National Coordinators for the Long Walk for Survival (1980).

This is quite an incredible list. He is a family man, an activist, an educator, an author, an academic, a veteran, a publisher, an athlete, a leader, and, now, an elder who needs our support. Lee suffered a stroke last year and since that time has been in the hospital in several different facilities. All his retirement funds are being used to cover his medical expenses and the mortgage on his family home is seriously in arrears with an imminent auction looming overhead. His son Quanah is organizing a fundraiser to try and address some of the expenses and is asking for community support to help keep the family home, which is also the office of UNA, the organization which Lee founded and that has informed his life’s activism work.

The family needs donations to help save Professor Lehman Brightman’s home of over 25 years and the Home Office of U.N.A. from foreclosure; assistance for payments with the PG&E, and pro-bono legal assistance in remedying the foreclosure. If you can help, donations may be made directly to Wells Fargo Bank, Loan # 0044126233 for the property address 2434 Faria Avenue, Pinole, California 94564. With an Auction date of October 9th 2012 fast approaching, we are in desperate need for your financial support.

Cards of appreciation, well wishes and encouragement may also be sent to Lee at the above address and will be delivered to him by Quanah. Lee has been in the hospital over a year and is in stable but monitored condition. He has his good days and his bad. If you wish to visit Lee please contact Quanah about this as well. If you have any questions or can offer other types of support, please contact Quanah Brightman at: (510) 672-7187 . The entire UNA Family personally thanks you for your prayers for Lehman’s health and well being, and for your generous donations, which are deeply appreciated.

Lee has always acted out of a sense of social justice for what is right and has been a lifelong advocate for native peoples. The fact that he is now destitute, and has to pay his medical expenses after having served his country in it’s time of need, I think is an indictment of how we treat our veterans and elders, but that is a larger story for another time. Right now, I hope that we can do something to help in this situation as a small way of thanking Lee for his choices to stand for the people and that you will do what you can to offer support, whether it be money, prayers, cards, songs, visits, or all of those, to share with our relative, our elder uncle. I have great respect and admiration for such a man who has stood so long for the people, and hope that those of us who can do something to thank him for his lifelong service while he is with us now.

Wopila tanka

AIM West Film Fest and November Conference Flyer



AIM West Film Festival Schedule http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/09/aim-west-international-film-fest-oct-12.html
3rd Annual
International American Indian Movement Film Festival
Hosted by AIM West
Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street
San Francisco, CA
Friday, October 12, 2012
11:30 a.m.
Opening Prayer Drumming
12:00 p.m.
“Indian Summer in Geneva” (52 min.) 1977
Documentary
Producer: Volkmar Ziegler
12:52 p.m.:
Q& A and intro to next films
1:00 p.m.
“Guatemala Vive” (30 min.) 2012
Documentary
by AIM West Productions
Director: Adrian Carrasco
1:30 p.m.
Q &A- Discussion
1:45 p.m.
“My Adopted Daughter from Nicaragua” (30 min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Morten Bruus
2:15 p.m.
Q & A- Discussion
2:30 p.m.
“Behind the Blue Veil” (Tuareg People) (9.5 min) 2012
Documentary
“Imazighen Lybia” (8 min.) Documentary
2:50 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
3:00 p.m.
“The People and the Olive” (Palestine) (60min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Aaron Dennis
4:00 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
4:15 p.m.
“Wild Horses & Renegades” (79 min.) 2010
Documentary
Director: James Anaquad Kleinert
5:35 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
5:45 p.m.
“Into the Current: Burma’s Political Prisoners” (76 min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Jeanne Hallacy
7:00 p.m
“Aung San Suu Kyi-Lady of No Fear” (64 min.) 2010
Documentary
Director: Annie Gyrithe Bonne
8:05 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion of films on Burma
8:15 p.m.
“The Game of Life, Heart and Spirit of the Onondaga” (15 min.) 2012
Documentary
Produced and Directed by Stu Lisson and Meg Lynch
8:30 p.m.
“Crooked Arrows” (105 min)
Drama-Feature Film
Director: Steve Rash
Films end @ 10:15
 

September 27, 2012

Mohawk Nation News 'Mohawks v. the Queen. Kanekota.'

MNN: MOHAWKS V. THE QUEEN. KANEKOTA.


MOHAWKS V. HER MAJESTY. FEDERAL COURT, TORONTO: 
October 1, 2012. Re: Kanekota
http://mohawknationnews.com/blog/?p=1433
MNN. Sep. 27, 2012. The hearing is on Monday October 1 at 10 AM, 180 Queen Street West. Toronto. Thahoketoteh will be arguing Rule of Law with the Attorney General on the issue of Kanekota. All welcome.

Kanekota, “where the water comes from the earth”, is a 525 sq. mi. tract in the northern portion of the Haldimand Tract. The Royal Proclamation of 1783 provides that Canada has the responsibility to protect the Mohawks forever and that there shall never be any encroachment.

Thahoketoteh states, “I would be pleased if you could come to the courtroom as a witness. The argument will be chronological, starting at 1701 with the introduction of the Gushwenta, up to the present”.

The Gushwenta is the formula whereby the settlers agreed to become of one mind and live with us in peace. It was ratified in 1710 when our Royaner visited Queen Anne’s court. This will now be on the Public Record for everyone. The return of the Peace is almost here.
MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com For more news, books, workshops, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to www.mohawknationnews.com More stories at MNN Archives. Address: Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0

Crownpoint Navajos march against uranium mining Sept 27, 2012


TransCanada worker attempts to drop tree on peaceful blockader Day 4

VIDEO: TransCanada Worker Attempts to Drop Tree on Peaceful Blockader (Day 4)
           http://tarsandsblockade.org/video-transcanada-worker-attempts-to-drop-tree-on-peaceful-blockader-day-4/

After Tuesday’s incident in which blockader’s witnessed TransCanada supervisors actively encouraging the torture of two peaceful blockaders, they immediately turned their heavy machinery back on and continued to plow toward nine people in a tree blockade. Before they could get close enough to the 80-foot-high tree village, a team of four nonviolent blockaders intent on protecting the safety of their friends, and stopping TransCanada’s reckless clear-cutting machinery intercepted them.
When approached in plain sight by the members of Tar Sands Blockade the TransCanada operator refused to turn off his machine in accordance with Federal safety regulations. He continued to recklessly clear-cut trees in full view of TransCanada supervisors who simply watched with video cameras. The feller buncher operator made eye contact with blockaders, and proceeded to drop a tree near enough to them that blockader J.G Jenson had to jump out of the way to avoid being slammed by the branches.
“It felt like he was aiming a loaded gun at me and would pull the trigger any second,” says J.G. Jenson who had to leap out of the way to avoid being struck by the falling tree. “TransCanada has abandoned all safety protocols to plow this toxic pipeline through our homes at any cost.”
“We are here on the front lines of the fight to stop tar sands extraction, and we need more people to join us here because they are trying plow right through us.”

Below is a personal account of from the Tar Sands Blockader member, J.G. Jenson, who was almost struck by the falling tree:
After Tuesday’s lockdown action had been cleared up [TransCanada] finished the timber bridge, and we heard that a feller buncher was approaching. We went out there, and saw two TransCanada supervisors with vests and hard hats, standing 100-feet from a feller buncher. It was clear they had seen us, and they were filming us the whole time.
We moved in right after we saw that the feller buncher had cut a tree and dropped it, so we knew the feller buncher wasn’t about to drop another tree and we could approach.
We approached slowly in plain sight of the TransCanada supervisors, keeping in mind that it was a dangerous situation. We walked past the supervisors calmly, and got about 60-feet from the feller buncher.
That’s when the feller buncher began to back up. I thought, “OK, the supervisors have radioed him, and told him to back up because there are peaceful blockaders approaching,” but instead of leaving he turns and cuts a dead tree that falls into four big pieces, and he threatens us by dropping the lower section in our general direction.
We are 50-feet away at this point. On the machine it says stay back 500-feet. We are trying to stop this feller buncher from cutting the trees and building this pipeline, and advancing toward the wall [40-foot-high timber scaffolding where sitters are nearby], so we began walking towards it again.
He cut a very tall tree and swung it around, pointing it right at us like a loaded gun. I’m thinking, “This guy thinks we’re just going to run away,” and I wanted him to know that we’re not here to run away, we’re here to stop this dangerous project, so I sat down. I knew that the operator had full control over that tree, because the machine has a tight grip like a fist around the tree trunks, and it will only let go of that tree when it wants to.
The operator kept that tree pointed at us for what seemed like forever. It felt like he was aiming a loaded gun at me and would pull the trigger any second. Then he turned it back a bit, and basically dropped the tree. As it fell it hit another tree which broke and fell straight towards me. I managed to roll out of the way right before the top of the tree slammed down right were I had been sitting. Others were right next me. The operator fully retreated back across the bridge, and regrouped with the supervisors.
After that, two supervisors hung around and filmed us, telling us that the cops would be here soon.
We went back and retook the bridge where are our friends did the lockdown earlier in the day. We had effectively run them off because it was the end of work day.

Democracy Now! Has US designated Wikileaks Assange 'enemy of the state'


By Democracy Now!

 In the wake of a speech given by Julian Assange addressed to the United Nations, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Wikileaks founder Julian Assange may have been designated an "enemy of the state" by the United States. For more on the new developments Democracy Now! has Assange's speech as well as an interview with the president emeritus of the CCR and legal advisor to Julian Assange, Michael Ratner. watch: http://youtu.be/e-m8bV9KGVE

Michael Ratner was on Democracy Now! this morning! to talk about the U.S. Air Force counter-intelligence documents that show military personnel who contact WikiLeaks or its supporters may be at risk of being charged with "communicating with the enemy" - a military crime that carries a maximum sentence of death. The designation is the same legal category as al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In this interview Ratner discusses the implications of the newly found documents and the current state of Julian Assange's legal case.We also show the speech Assange addressed towards the UN from the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Exposed: U.S. May Have Designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks An "Enemy of the State"
DEMOCRACY NOW LINK:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/27/exposed_us_may_have_designated_julian

 

September 26, 2012

Censored News celebrates six years of publishing the warriors!

Celebrating six years of publishing the warriors, revolutaries and truth tellers!
 
By Brenda Norrell, publisher
brendanorrell@gmail.com
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Censored News bolts into its seventh year of publishing in October 2012. It has been a bumpy ride to keep it going. But always there are those who have no other place to post their news for a global audience. The worst offenders, like the US Border Patrol, Canadian mining corporations, the US government, and other human rights abusers are able to either co-op, or silence, most of the media.

The news reporters that can not be squelched are bought off. Then, too, some news reporters have simply just given up. The fight for truth has been too long and too exhausting for them. Others never really started the fight, relying instead on plagiarism and rewriting others hard work.

Well, that’s the bad news.

The good news is that it is a thrill to look online and see all the good hearts that are still out there doing it. And not many of them are reporters. At least not anymore. They are the warriors. They are the grassroots warriors, standing in front of trucks, locking down to heavy machinery, and saying no to the destruction of their homes, communities and the Earth.

They are the grandmother water walkers, the canoe paddlers, and those that live in uncertainty with US Border Patrol spy cameras pointed at them in the night.

They are the ones that say ‘No’ to being co-opted and being bought off. They are the ones who refuse to look the other way when there is fraud, when people are being deceived and cheated.

They are the Indigenous in Guatemala and Peru being assassinated by mining companies. They are the truth tellers at Wikileaks. They are Anonymous revealing facts in a way that no one else can.

They are all the people who can not trust the mainstream media to tell their story and get it right. They are the ones saying 'NO!' to corporations. They are the ones who protest the banning of books. They are the Native American youths who walk across America. They are the American Indian elders who tell their stories. They are the children who arise with hope.

They are the keepers of tradition, the defenders of sacred lands, protectors of the old growth pines, caribou and Beluga whales.

They are the tree sitters. They are the whistleblowers. They are the media that walk out and tell the truth. They are the poets. They are the revolutionaries. They are the resisters.

So, as we come to the end of six years of publishing, Censored News celebrates all of you who are out there doing it, keeping it real, and refusing to give up, for the sake of the future generations and in defense of the earth.

Thank you to all of our readers, writers, photographers, translators, contributors, and well-wishers!

 
Censored News began in 2006 when reporter Brenda Norrell was censored, then terminated by Indian Country Today, after serving as a longtime staff reporter. Norrell is a former reporter for Navajo Times and served as a stringer for AP and USA Today during the 18 years she lived on the Navajo Nation. She has been a news reporter in Indian country for 30 years, covering the western US, and traveling with the Zapatistas in Mexico.

The original Censored posted in 2006, with articles censored by Indian Country Today, is at http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/

Censored News www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com is a service to Indigenous Peoples and other grassroots people engaged in the defense of human rights and the protection of the Earth. Censored News continues with no advertising.
 
 
 

 

TransCanada encouraged torture of peaceful protestors Day 3 Texas

TransCanada Actively Encouraged Torture Tactics to be Used on Peaceful Protestors (Day 3)
yesterday two Texans, Shannon Bebe and Benjamin Franklin, were subjected to torture tactics at the hands of police under the active encouragement of TransCanada senior supervisors. Bebe and Franklin were exercising their constitutional rights to nonviolent protest when they locked themselves to Keystone XL construction machinery outside Winnsboro, Texas and delayed construction for most of the day. Police began using aggressive pain compliance tactics when a senior TransCanada supervisor named John arrived and actively encouraged it. Torture tactics included; sustained chokeholds, violent arm-twisting, pepper spray, and multiple uses of Tasers, all while blockaders where in handcuffs.
Immediately following TransCanada’s consultation, law enforcement handcuffed the protesters’ free hands to the heavy machinery in stress positions and then subjected to repeated torture tactics by four police officers while TransCanada employees stood by and watched.
With the news that their friends had been tortured with TransCanada’s approval, the eight original tree sitters were bravely joined by another, expanding the tree blockade further as TransCanada’s clear-cutting heavy machinery rapidly approaches. Construction is roughly 300 yards away from the tree blockade. All refuse to come down until TransCanada halts its dangerous pipeline project.
Read more: http://tarsandsblockade.org/transcanada-torture/

SOA Watch: Two human rights lawyers assassinated in Honduras

Two human rights lawyers assassinated in Honduras: take action!

This past Sunday and Monday, two human rights lawyers, Antonio Trejo and Eduardo Diaz, were brutally murdered in Honduras, bringing to over 60 the number of victims caught in the struggle for life and land in the Bajo Aguan in Honduras. The debate over the production of food for families versus bio-fuels for corporations has reached a high note

After the 2009 coup that was led by SOA graduates, massive privatization has become the order of the day for Honduras, with almost everything, from land to entire cities, on the docket for privatization.

Lawyer Antonio Trejo had the valor to take a stand against this. He was defending the right of the MARCA peasant collective to the restoration of their lands in the Lower Aguan valley. These lands were seized 18 years earlier by Honduras’ wealthiest man: Miguel Facussé. Facusse’s Dinant Corporation was using this land to produce African palms, a source of bio fuel .

Trejo’s efforts led to initial success, with a June court decision calling for the return the land to the campesinos, However, pressure from the private corporation led to an overthrow of the court order, as well as the arrest of Trejo and other campesinos protesting the reversal.

Saturday night unknown assailants riddled Trejo's body and car with bullets as he left a wedding. On several occasions, Trejo denounced the threats he had received to the media and had publicly said that if he were killed, Facusse would be responsible.

Trejo had also taken a stand on the controversial proposal by the Honduran government, in conjunction with a US company, MGK Group, to build three privately run cities with their own police, laws and tax systems. Just hours before his murder, Trejo had participated in a televised debate in which he accused congressional leaders of using the private city projects to raise campaign funds.

Only hours after Trejo’s assassination, another human rights lawyer, Eduardo Diaz Madariaga was killed in Choluteca, 84 miles (135 kilometers) south of the capital.

Lawyers Antonio Trejo and Eduardo Diaz lost gave their lives to the struggle for dignity. If you have at least 3 minutes to spare or a 3 cents in your pocket, this is what you can do:

- 3 minutes to spare?Contact your Member of Congress and demand an end to US military aid to Honduras.

- 10 minutes to spare? Learn how Nicaragua found the courage to withdraw their troops from the SOA last month, while neighboring Honduras continues to pay the price for actions of SOA graduates, by reading the report from a recent SOA Watch delegation.

- 3 days to spare? Go to Honduras as an election observer. The National Popular Resistance Front formed a political party, LIBRE, to compete in next years national elections, and primary elections for LIBRE and Honduras’ traditional parties will be held this November. Four LIBRE primary candidates have been killed to date and violence against FNRP activists and members is committed daily

- 10 days to spare? Join Witness for Peace and the Friendship Office of the Americas to see the effects of militarization in Honduras and then take action at the SOA Watch vigil in Georgia.

- No time, but some pocket change? Help sponsor SOA Watch' Human Rights Accompanier with the PROAH Accompaniment Program of Honduras

“Oligarchs beware: the Honduran people of struggle will continue to place our bet on the construction of a dignified life, until we achieve a new society and a new country that we will refound with equality, justice, peace and sovereignty”
- statement by COPIHN, September 25, 2012



"We are not birds who live in the air, we are not fish who live in the sea, we are campesinos who must live on the land".
- Unified Campesino Movement of Aguan (MUCA) -


November 16-18, 2012: Converge on Fort Benning, Georgia!


_________________

SOA Watch
@SOAWatch

SOAW YouTube

September 25, 2012

Texans lockdown again to halt Keystone tarsands pipeline

BREAKING: Day 2–Two People Lock Themselves to Keystone XL Machinery to Defend Eight People in Tree Village

Day Two: Blockaders Stop All Work At Keystone XL Construction Site
All work has been halted at a Keystone XL construction site outside Winnsboro, Texas. Two Texas-born blockaders have locked themselves to construction machinery, effectively halting all construction until further notice.

 
By Global Justice Ecology Project
Climate Connections

___
Two Texas-born Tar Sands Blockaders have locked themselves to a critical piece of machinery for Keystone XL construction in order to protect a tree village occupied by eight people in the tar sands pipeline’s path of devastation outside Winnsboro,Texas.
The two landowner advocates and climate justice organizers are risking arrest to delay deforesting work along the Keystone XL pipeline’s path, which threatens to destroy a magnificent tree village on property that TransCanada now claims ownership of through court action. The machinery involved, a backhoe, was being used to build a bridge across a gully in the massive path of destruction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. WIthout the bridge construction has effectively been halted for the day. Help spread this breaking story on Facebook and Twitter.
Please see the latest updates at the bottom of this post

TransCanada’s heavy machinery has clear-cut its way within just over 300 yards of the 80-foot tall tree house village occupied by landowner advocates in the pathway of Keystone XL just outside Winnsboro, Texas. The eight people in trees have held strong despite the advancing roar of TransCanada’s clear cutting machinery and are determined to hold their blockade as long as needed.
This action is to protect the eight people sitting in trees, as their blockade enters its second day – the longest halt to construction since Tar Sands Blockade, which organized the tree sit, began in August.

Lake Dallas, Texas-born blockader Shannon Bebe, 26, has united with Houston-native and small business owner, Benjamin Franklin, 34, to support rural and neighboring communities who feel abused by TransCanada’s extremely aggressive land grabs and threatened by their toxic pipeline’s diluted bitumen slurry.
Franklin, whose family traces its lineage to pre-independence Texas, relates, “As someone who has a religious dedication to nonviolence, I have a duty to assist nonviolent tactics. This is a path to change that works. I had a childhood spent in the piney woods of Texas, and they contain a beauty that haunts me, still. Driving up here and then walking amongst the trees and their sitters reminded me of the beauty I experienced in childhood. That in and of itself is reason to be here defending it.”
He continues, “The theft and destruction of people’s homes, the contamination that’s likely to occur once the pipeline is completed, and the release of the carbon bomb that is the Athabascan tar sands formation make the need for action now unignorable.”
Tar Sands Blockade is a coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and climate justice organizers using peaceful and sustained civil disobedience to stop the construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. We have already successfully shut down Keystone XL construction for about two-and-a-half days in Livingston, Saltillo, and Winnsboro.
Watch the high energy video from our recent actions and sign up to join us.
“The risk of inaction is far greater than the risk of taking action – even risky action like this,” suggests Ron Seifert, a Tar Sands Blockade spokesperson. “We are committed to undertaking a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience to stop construction of Keystone XL, and Tar Sands Blockade will continue to protect the Winnsboro tree village. It is a symbol of all the homes and families crudely threatened by this tar sands pipeline. Sometimes, one must simply stand one’s ground in the face of eminent threats like those posed by this dangerous pipeline in order protect the health and safety of their families, loved ones, and that of their neighbors.”
UPDATE: 12:00PM – Wood County Sheriff Has Arrived The Wood County Sheriff just arrived at the Keystone XL construction site that has effectively been shut down by two blockaders who have locked themselves to construction machinery. Today’s brave action is preventing TransCanada’s machinery from approaching an eight person indefinite tree vigil just over 300 yards away.UPDATE: 1:15PM – More Law Enforcement Officers Arrive
Three more law enforcement officers have joined the Wood County Sheriff at a Keystone XL construction site that has been effectively shut down by Texas born blockaders, Shannon and Benjamin. Join them in an upcoming action to help defend our homes form this toxic pipeline.

AIM West International Film Fest Oct. 12, 2012

                                                                       


AIM-WEST host American Indian Movement International Film Festival
Friday October 12, 2012

More information 415-577-1492www.aimwest.info
Posted at Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com


AIM-WEST proudly presents the American Indian Movement International Film Festival, to be held at the Brava Women’s Theater, located at 2781 24th Street, in San Francisco’s Mission District! The program begins at 12 noon until 10 pm with traditional dance, drumming and songs prior to the opening. The M.C. is nationally known AIM leader, Mr. Bill Means.
The films selected for this year’s festival, found in our website, exemplifies the legacy and spiritual movement of resistance, and the fight for self-determination found among indigenous peoples throughout the globe. Held each year on Indigenous Peoples Day (Columbus), the film festival offers an important educational alternative to the stories typically associated with the national celebration of Columbus Day in the USA, and what it means to Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas.
The films selected this year will bring to light the scope and diversity of Indigenous peoples who claim their inherent rights throughout the world, documenting the strategies they are using, from armed resistance to the electoral process, to secure recognition of their rights, including treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements made between nation/states and Indigenous peoples. The AIM-WEST International Film Festival brings a new sense of urgency to these struggles, especially in light of the global challenges of climate change, migration, poverty and social justice. Through these films AIM-WEST seeks to demonstrate the common bond between all Indigenous peoples as they struggle for equal justice and freedom.
This year the AIM-WEST International Film Festival will screen contemporary, provocative and interesting films. For example, we have included two Burmese films that depicts political prisoners held there (and ‘ethnic minorities’ aka Indigenous). One is about the multitude of prisoners held by the dictatorship, and another about the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1991, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was recently released from 15 years under house arrest and just elected to the country’s Parliament.
Ironically, Ms. Suu Kyi will grace us with her presence in San Francisco on Saturday, September 29th. We expect that her arrival in town will increase interest and attendance at the AIM-WEST Film Festival. Another recent film to be screened and highly recommended is “Crooked Arrows” about the sport of La Crosse, the game of life, heart, and spirit of the Onondaga. This will be a first time screening on the west coast! Don’t miss it!

There will be vendors, food and refreshments, bring the family and kids!

Tickets are $12 at the door, sliding scale, no one turned away! Donations accepted.
3rd Annual
International American Indian Movement Film Festival
Hosted by AIM West
Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street
San Francisco, CA
Friday, October 12, 2012
11:30 a.m.
Opening Prayer Drumming
12:00 p.m.
“Indian Summer in Geneva” (52 min.) 1977
Documentary
Producer: Volkmar Ziegler
12:52 p.m.:
Q& A and intro to next films
1:00 p.m.
“Guatemala Vive” (30 min.) 2012
Documentary
by AIM West Productions
Director: Adrian Carrasco
1:30 p.m.
Q &A- Discussion
1:45 p.m.
“My Adopted Daughter from Nicaragua” (30 min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Morten Bruus
2:15 p.m.
Q & A- Discussion
2:30 p.m.
“Behind the Blue Veil” (Tuareg People) (9.5 min) 2012
Documentary
“Imazighen Lybia” (8 min.) Documentary
2:50 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
3:00 p.m.
“The People and the Olive” (Palestine) (60min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Aaron Dennis
4:00 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
4:15 p.m.
“Wild Horses & Renegades” (79 min.) 2010
Documentary
Director: James Anaquad Kleinert
5:35 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion
5:45 p.m.
“Into the Current: Burma’s Political Prisoners” (76 min.) 2012
Documentary
Director: Jeanne Hallacy
7:00 p.m
“Aung San Suu Kyi-Lady of No Fear” (64 min.) 2010
Documentary
Director: Annie Gyrithe Bonne
8:05 p.m.
Q&A- Discussion of films on Burma
8:15 p.m.
“The Game of Life, Heart and Spirit of the Onondaga” (15 min.) 2012
Documentary
Produced and Directed by Stu Lisson and Meg Lynch
8:30 p.m.
“Crooked Arrows” (105 min)
Drama-Feature Film
Director: Steve Rash
Films end @ 10:15


September 24, 2012

San Francisco: Retire Columbus Day



Retire Columbus Day
By United Native Americans
Censored News


INDIGENOUS DAY OF RESISTANCE INDIGENOUS RIGHTS RALLY & MARCH to Decolonize the World on the Truth of Christoper Columbus and his Insidious Hate Crimes he Committed Against the Indigenous Peoples of The Americas Known as Turtle Island.

Our Peaceful March will begin from foot of Jefferson and Stockton Streets located near Fisherman's Wharf to Coit Tower Rally in Front of the Columbus Statue

Sunday, October 7th, 2012
From 10:00 am -1:00 pm
Press Conference from Noon to 1:00pm at Coit Tower in Front of the Columbus Statue

Fisherman's Wharf
Foot of Jefferson and Stockton
to Coit Tower, Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, CA

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=Fishermans+Wharf%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA+to+Coit+Tower+Telegraph+Hill&ie=UTF-8

We as United Native Americans, Founded in 1968 in the San Francisco Bay Area Call for an Educational Rally to Decolonize the World on Retiring the Nation's Oldest Italian Heritage Parade's Celebration of Christopher Columbus since 1869, which was San Francisco's First Columbus Day Celebration. Ending the 144 Year Celebration of Christopher Columbus so called "Discovery of America" and Ending 520 Year's of the Celebration of the Criminal Genocide inflicted upon the Indigenous People of the Americas. We as United Native Americans Refute the Doctrine of Discovery. We Demand that The United States Government Retire the Celebration of Christoper Columbus and We Demand that The United States Government Sign Into Law & Implement The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

History:

1876 California accepted a Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella Statue from Darius Ogden. The statue is displayed in the Rotunda of the State Capital. Valued at $30,000, it was crafted by Larkin G. Mead in Florence, Italy.
1892 President Harrison declared October 12, 1492 as the day America was discovered by Christopher Columbus.
1909 California declared October 12 a legal holiday, to be known as "Discovery Day."
1911 Assemblyman Dismo M. De Negri of San Francisco changed the name of the holiday to "Columbus Day."
1910 President Taft declared October 12 to be a legal U.S. holiday.
United Native Americans
Educational Rally

Fisherman's Wharf
Foot of Jefferson and Stockton
to
Coit Tower
Telegraph Hill Blvd.
San Francisco, CA

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=Fishermans+Wharf%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA+to+Coit+Tower+Telegraph+Hill&ie=UTF-8

Ending the 144 Year Celebration of Christopher Columbus and Ending 520 Years and Counting of Genocide inflicted on the Indigenous People of the Americas.

INDIGENOUS DAY OF RESISTANCE


We as United Native Americans, Founded in 1968 in the San Francisco Bay Area Call for anI Indigenous Day of Resistance is calling for an International Forum in Support of Ending the Celebration of Christoper Columbus. We Demand that The United States Government Retire the Celebration of Christoper Columbus and We Demand that The United States Government Sign Into Law & Implement The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.


Retiring the Nation's Oldest Italian Heritage Parade & Ending the Celebration of Columbus since1869 San Francisco's First Columbus Day Celebration is held, marking the first time in San Francisco and America that Italian-Americans gathered and held a parade to honor the accomplishments of Italians, as well as the first Italian-American, Christopher Columbus.

1876 California accepted a Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella Statue from Darius Ogden. The statue is displayed in the Rotunda of the State Capital. Valued at $30,000, it was crafted by Larkin G. Mead in Florence, Italy.

1892 President Harrison declared October 12, 1492 as the day America was discovered by Christopher Columbus.

1909 California declared October 12 a legal holiday, to be known as "Discovery Day."

1911 Assemblyman Dismo M. De Negri of San Francisco changed the name of the holiday to "Columbus Day."

1910 President Taft declared October 12 to be a legal U.S. holiday.

1915 The San Francisco Columbus Day Committee was organized by the Salesian Fathers of St. Peter and Paul's Church in the heart of North Beach.

 View Our Educational Videos

UNA Co-Founder Dr. Jack Forbes argues that Native Americans discovered Europe before Europeans discovered America."
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKtIDm_v10&feature=share&list=PLC192C91C0E6A0CBE
 Reconsider Columbus Day Presented by Nu Heightz Cinema
rethink columbus day
reconsider christopher columbus
anti columbus day

http://youtu.be/9DviNNxaJJk

Dr. Lehman Brightman-International President of UNA On Christopher Columbus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-3hFI4nKm4&feature=share&list=PLC192C91C0E6A0CBE
United Native Americans on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC192C91C0E6A0CBE&feature=mh_lolz
 Friend Us On Facebook.com
http://www.facebook.com/groups/unitednativeamericansinc
 Follow UNAINC on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/unainc


WE INVITE MEMBERS OF THE PRESS AND COMMUNITY TO JOIN US FOR OUR INDIGENOUS RIGHTS RALLY & FORUM
All Dancers and Drum Groups Are Welcomed!

For More Information
Contact: United Native Americans,Inc.
Quanah Parker Brightman
qbrightman75@hotmail.com