Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

September 23, 2021

Censored News: Voicing Truth as Major Media Collapses into Deception and Public Relations Spin


Klee Benally, Dine'

Klee Benally speaks out as a truth teller. Meanwhile, secrets are exposed about non-profits in Indian country; virus relief spending on the Navajo Nation; and unanswered questions about Johns Hopkins medical researchers on the Navajo Nation. U.S. Thousands of U.S. Border Patrol agents test positive for coronavirus, fail to inform those exposed.


By Brenda Norrell
Censored News


On Native America Calling, Dine' Klee Benally talks about the 'trading post mentality' and appropriation. Klee shares the Zapatista way of being, "Everything for everyone," and anti-capitalism. Klee also remembers the Dine' elders lost during the pandemic, as libraries lost, and what is needed for all to become healers. Klee describes how we are all connected, and quotes his grandmother who resisted forced relocation, Roberta Blackgoat, who lived by the law of the land.


Native American Calling said, "Music Maker: Klee Benally calls his latest set of creations 'performance art intervention.' It’s called 'Appropriation' consisting of 13 tracks and is a stance against cultural genocide. It’s set to some very energetic sounds and brought further to life with strong vocals. The former Blackfire guitarist and vocalist writes: 'The music and accompanying propaganda was created for collective disruption of the dehumanizing forces attacking Indigenous existence.' We visit with Klee to find out why he’s calling out settler colonial order."

U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Tucson region test postive for COVID-19, as  agent dies from the virus. The U.S. Border Patrol fails to inform Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui who was exposed.

Throughout the spread of the coronavirus, U.S. Border Patrol agents carried out racially-profiled harassment stops of Tohono O'odham, without wearing masks.

Now, one U.S. Border Patrol agent in the Tucson sector has died from coronavirus. At this time, more than 1,249 Border Patrol agents and staff in Arizona have tested positive. The U.S. Border Patrol in Tucson has not informed Tohono O'odham or Pascua Yaqui, both in its service area, of who has been exposed by the agents.

In Texas, 3,957 agents have tested positive. 
Nationwide Border Patrol coronavirus data: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/coronavirus

Border Patrol agent in Tucson dies from COVID-19 https://www.odmp.org/officer/25474-border-patrol-agent-chad-e-mcbroom


Two Scams: Plagiarizing reporters, and non-profit heads in Indian country giving themselves $100,000 a year salaries

There are many scams on social media, here are two of them. News reporters, including paid staff reporters, use this scheme to deceive their readers. Many never leave the comforts of their easy chairs at home. I haven't seen some of them present on a news story in the past 39 years.

They plagiarize and rewrite others hard work, then add a quick phone call interview to make it appear like they were present. They often add a stolen photo from the web, and because of this theft, countless Native photographers became jobless due to the lack of pay.

With the exposure of IRS records, the secrets of non-profits in Indian country are being exposed.

CEO's and executive directors give themselves salaries averaging $100,000 annually, and as much as $175,000. Many pose as volunteers. While giving out small grants, they keep quiet about their salaries and money flowing to family members.

The scam works this way: A non-profit asks a grassroots group if they need help. Without telling the people living on the land, the non-profit writes a grant and receives huge sums of money -- ranging from $100,000 to millions of dollars.

Locals are seldom told about the grants, which the money is intended for. At conferences, locals are told to provide the food and sleep on the floor. Meanwhile, the non-profit staff enjoy the luxuries of rental cars, nice hotels, restaurant meals, and travel. Of course the grants and donations were intended for those in need.

Much of this remained a secret until Citizen Audit posted their IRS records online.

Most are also violating ethics by giving contracts and salaries to children and family members. Some directors give themselves homes and buildings. Don't be fooled when you see the public relations spin of the small giveaways in Indian country, look deeper to see what is happening with the rest of the money.

The grant money often comes from those opposed by the non-profits. The Christensen Fund money, popular for funding Native traditional food projects and Native environmental groups, actually comes from mining in Utah and coal mining on the Navajo Nation. Among the exploiters of the poor funding Indian country non-profit  projects is the head of Amazon corp.

Along with this is this scam that is widespread in southern Arizona. Non-Indians deceptively operate non-profits and give themselves salaries. Meanwhile, they post photos of Native employees and deceive the public into believing the non-profits are operated by Native Americans. Meanwhile, they steal and exploit ancestral seeds, traditional knowledge and cultural lifeways.

Along with non-profits, the exploiters in Arizona include book authors and universities, who are selling out the culture, seeking fame, and making money off of grassroots needs and struggles.

Media ignoring horrors of Navajo government spending during pandemic

Most of the media does not want to deal with the horrifying facts of how the Navajo government is spending funds during the pandemic. While charities and food banks were asked to provide for Dine', there was a secret deal underway to buy the bankrupt Remington Arms for $300 million. Outside consultants were being highly paid. https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2021/05/secret-navajo-nation-deal-to-buy.html

Then, as isolated Navajos were desperate for food and water in August of 2020, the Navajo government -- Navajo Nation Council and President -- gave $24 million of federal virus relief funds to its tribal casinos.

Today, Dine' volunteers continue to raise their own funds and deliver water and food to isolated Navajos in need.

The Navajo government has received $2.5 billion in federal virus relief funds, but little of it has reached those most in need -- isolated elderly, families with young children, and the sick and dying. The funds are from the U.S. government's CARES Act and American Rescue Plan.

Media silent on Johns Hopkins medical experiments on Navajos: Coronavirus plasma experiment funded by U.S. Pentagon.

Johns Hopkins University researchers experimented with vaccines on Navajo and White Mountain Apache children for 40 years, without the public knowledge. Then, when coronavirus spread, Johns Hopkins was allowed to take the lead on the Navajo Nation.

Johns Hopkins received a $35 million grant from the U.S. military's Pentagon to experiment on Navajos with blood plasma. The plasma from seriously ill coronavirus patients was given to Navajos with milder cases in transfusions. Traditional Dine' said this practice of receiving others blood is a violation of Dine' beliefs.

Many questions are unanswered: Why was the military's Pentagon funding this research? What is Johns Hopkins doing with the research, blood and DNA being collected from Navajos? 

The researchers are carrying out these experiments on Navajos in Indian Health Service hospitals on the Navajo Nation and in Gallup, N.M. The Indian Health Service tells Censored News that IHS is not responsible in the event of sickness or death from Johns Hopkins medical experiments on Navajos.

Johns Hopkins has a long, dark history. It is still being sued for infecting Indigenous in Guatemala with sexually-transmitted diseases during its medical experiments.

Read more: Unanswered questions about Johns Hopkins researchers on the Navajo Nation:

Read more

Navajo Times -- $2.1 Billion in American Rescue Plan funds sit idle.
Sept. 23, 2021

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