Attorneys seek clemency for Leonard Peltier

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15 March 2016
Contact: Peter Clark, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, 202 Harvard SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, (505) 217-3612; contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

Attorneys seek clemency for Leonard Peltier

On February 17, 2016, attorneys for Leonard Peltier submitted a formal application for executive clemency to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice.

An innocent man, Native American activist Leonard Peltier was wrongfully convicted in connection with the shooting deaths of two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1977.

Imprisoned for over 40 years-currently at the federal prison in Coleman, Florida-Peltier has been designated a political prisoner by Amnesty International. Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, 55 Members of Congress and others-including Judge Gerald Heaney (8th Circuit Court of Appeals) who sat as a member of the court in two of Peltier's appeals-have all called for his immediate release. Widely recognized for his humanitarian works and a six-time Nobel Prize nominee, Peltier also is an accomplished author and painter.

Casey Camp joins Amazonian Women for Defense of Earth

by WECAN International Dear Friends and Allies,  Last week, a Women's Earth and Climate Action Network delegation joined Indigenous women of the Ecuadorian Amazon for a historic International Women's Day mobilization in the jungle town of Puyo and the country's capital, Quito. Women leaders of seven Amazonian nationalities including the Andoa, Achuar, Kichwa, Shuar, Shiwiar, Sapara and Waorani people stood together for an all day forum and march denouncing newly signed oil contracts in the Amazon Rainforest. They called for respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and local women land and community defenders, who have been putting their bodies on the line for years to halt oil drilling across their traditional territories. A tribute was also held in honor of Berta Caceres, an Indigenous environmental leader killed the previous week over her work defending rights and territories from privatization, plantations, and mega dam projects in Honduras. An estimated 500 people took to the streets and held forums and strategy sessions with fierce conviction, making it clear that women are not just victims of the fossil fuel industries, but rather vital solution bearers and powerful agents of change and restoration of balance between communities and the Earth. Ponca Nation leader, Casey Camp-Horinek of the WECAN Delegation was honored by the Amazonian women and invited to lead ceremony and walk at the front of the march. The women showed great unity and strength, and their voices and demands are now being shared widely. WECAN is working ongoingly with women of several nationalities, including the Sapara and Kichwa of Sarayaku, supporting them in next steps to continue gatherings and movement building amongst Amazonian women Earth defenders, bring elevated global attention to this crisis, and advocate for change within social, political and economic forums. It is time to keep the oil in the ground in the Amazon and across the world. It is time to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and women, and to honor the frontline women working to protect the Amazon and it's vital living cycles, upon which we all depend. Learn more about the WECAN delegation and International Women's Day actions in Ecuador via our recent blog, EcoWatch article, and press release. To contribute your voice to the movement to stop oil extraction in the Amazon and stand with women defenders, sign and share the critical petition here - then take a moment to donate in support of justice for the peoples and lands of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Women leaders of seven nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon present in advance of the International Women's Day - No Extraction in the Amazon march in Puyo, Ecuador Gloria Ushigua, President of the Association of Sapara Women, Ecuador speaks during the International Women's Day forum. More than 40% of her people's traditional territory is threatened by the latest oil contract between the Ecuadorian government and Chinese oil company Andes Petroleum Members of the WECAN delegation marching with Rosa Ruiz, Sapara leader from Torimbo, Ecuador  Waorani women leaders share advice, reflections and calls to action. Their land in the Northern Amazon has already been devastated, so they are standing with their neighbors in the South to stop the expansion of extraction Casey Camp Horinek, Ponca nation leader and WECAN delegation member/Special Projects Advisor stands in solidarity and shares her experiences of environmental genocide at the hands of the fossil fuel industry in Oklahoma, USA 'Women of Ecuadorian Amazon and International Allies Stand For Protection of the Amazon Rainforest' March 9 report back event at FLASCO University, Quito - From left to right: Natalia Greene, Osprey Orielle Lake and Casey Camp Horinek  Narcissa Mashenta, Shuar leader of Morona-Santiago, Ecuador speaks at the FLASCO University event, Quito The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, Amazon Watch and women leaders of the Kichwa of Sarayaku and Waorani people prepare to march in Puyo Thank you for your continued support of our work for climate justice and care for the Earth and all generations,     Osprey Orielle Lake and the WECAN International Team STAY CONNECTED:

Mohawk Nation News 'NYS Troopers 2006 Report'

http://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2016/03/16/nys-troopers-2006-report/

Karuk Tribe, Allies add Forest Service to Lawsuit Protecting Salmon

Karuk Tribe, Allies Add Forest Service to Lawsuit Protecting Salmon

by Dan Bacher
Censored News

The Karuk Tribe and four environmental groups today expanded their complaint challenging the Westside Post Fire logging plan to include the United States Forest Service and Klamath National Forest over allegations that they violated federal law protecting imperiled salmon and their watersheds.  

The groups filing the complaint include the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild), Center for Biological Diversity, and Klamath Riverkeeper. 

The lawsuit alleges the Klamath National Forest Plan, as approved by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, "illegally increases the risk of extinction" for threatened populations of coho salmon."   

The plaintiffs allege the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of NOAA Fisheries violated the Endangered Species Act ("ESA") when it issued a Biological Opinion ("BiOp") and Incidental Take Statement ("ITS") for the Westside Fire Recovery Project ("Westside Project") on Forest Service lands in the Klamath River watershed.