Ofelia Rivas on her homeland. Photo by Jason Jaacks copyright, Censored News
Tohono O'odham Ofelia Rivas: The Pirates Who Stole My Words
White privilege and piracy permeates university professors and dissertation writers, says Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, pointing out that today more than 20 books use her words about O'odham and the border without her permission. The pirates range from the United Nations and book authors, to non-profits and corporate-paid activists.
Pirates
In 2003 the Elders from my fathers community and the ceremony Elders from my mothers community appointed me by consensus to be their voice.
Prior to 9-11 hundreds of heavily-armed border patrol soldiers invaded O'odham lands violently attacking O'odham in their yards, homes, communities, on reservation roads and state highways.
United States Homeland Security, Tom Ridge then Michael Chertoff under George W. Bush declared our territory as open territory for unmonitored and unauthorized armed border patrol military operations on O'odham lands.
Through research, Elders were advised to always carry their federal enumeration identification card issued by the Tohono O'odham Nation. Elders, the majority only O'odham speakers, were interrogated by border patrol military soldiers calling them "undocumented aliens."
Not immigrants but "undocumented aliens."
Elders were verbally attacked and questioned in Spanish and vulgar english. Elder passengers in vehicles without tribal cards were dragged out by throat holds and this caused dislocated shoulders. They were forced on their knees on asphalt roads for hours. Tribal cards were confiscated and discarded.
I self-taught myself to research human rights including civil rights, local and international rights, and learned to document border patrol abuses occurring at the ancient O'odham community routes, now the International United States and Mexico border.
An awareness campaign to inform the general public of border patrol abuses, major and local media were invited to tell our story.
This grassroots efforts is to protect people and protect the rights of the original people of the land.
Today more than 20 so-called authors of books, without permission and some with explicit request to not use my words or conversation, have used my research, my words and sometimes my image to promote themselves as experts on the border issue on the O'odham land, while they meanwhile reside in safe homes and safe communities far away from border patrol military violence.
Writers asserting white privilege, with institutional privilege -- illegal unethical piracy -- permeates university professors and dissertation writers.
The pirates often are under the guise of the pretense "indigenea," the new found identity, reviving obscure tribes and stealing from ancient cultures such as Anasazi and Aztecs, and have become the exotic "indigenous" ancestry identity.
All pretenders step forward -- from the United Nations and all its "indigenous" components -- to the entertainment business, non-profit organizations and corporate-paid activists.
Not a single dollar from these pirates have addressed the injustice on border issues, not a single dollar has addressed immigration policies and not a single dollar has supported human rights violations on O'odham land.
The pirates gain illegal notoriety as experts to testify on behalf of a group of people they met and spoke to in a day.
While others become high ranking "experts" without having any experience nor an ounce of first people blood.
All young people beware of these pirates -- they steal words, grassroots efforts, and cultural identities.
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| Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, in Jamaica, testifying on the militarization of O'odham land, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2019. Photo by Brenda Norrell, copyright Censored News Tohono O'odham Ofelia Rivas testified that her people are being brutalized by the US Department of Homeland Security, and her homelands militarized, just as was the case in Standing Rock. Speaking before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Jamaica, Ofelia told of the 500 years of genocidal policies that today result in her people constantly under attack by the United States. "U.S. Homeland Security has criminalized the Tohono O'odham," Ofelia testified, as reported in Censored News live coverage from Jamaica. |
Ofelia Rivas website is O'odham Rights
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| Ofelia Rivas, photo copyright Jason Jaacks, Censored News |
Copyright Ofelia Rivas. Content and photos may not be used without written permission. This includes the use in media, dissertations, books, films, grants and all other use.
2 comments:
In 1968 I told my mother-in-law about college students who come to interview about "the old ways". They then can write about it, get their college degree to show themselves "educated", and consider the old Indians as uneducated. One day as I was driving up to her house I saw chasing a skinny white guy with a broom who jumped in his car and drove away. I asked and she said, "he wanted to know about our ways. I said you just want your college degree but you still think I'm uneducated. I got mad." Gotta love it.
The widespread copy-and-paste plagiarism at the University of Arizona in Tucson catches us by surprise. Why didn't students simply ask for permission? (Perhaps they knew Native people didn't want students using their words in their research mill.) Why didn't professors check for extensive copy-and-paste plagiarism? Why didn't the editors at the University of Arizona Press verify that Native people had given their permission for their words to be used -- before publishing dissertations as books? Students have been busy stealing the words and life works of Native people without their permission. Ofelia Rivas is one of those whose words and life work are stolen, all the way from the University of Arizona, to the United Nations, and at money-making non-profits, and self-promoting go fund me's. -- Brenda Norrell, publisher, Censored News
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